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A motion calling for patients from the North to be able to access CAR-T cell therapy in Dublin, was passed at last night's 4 August full Council meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The motion put forward by Newry City Councillor Killian Feehan calls for Health Departments and Ministers on both sides of the border to facilitate the change in policy.
The motion follows the death of Ballymoyer woman Catherine Sherry, who passed away earlier this year in King’s College Hospital, London, while receiving CAR-T treatment, treatment that she could have accessed in Dublin if systems had been put in place. .
The motion calls on Health Ministers Mike Nesbitt and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to begin urgent negotiations to make the changes necessary so that patients can access this treatment in Ireland. Catherine's aunt's Ann and Marie were present in the Council chamber last night.
Councillor Feehan said: “I must commend the incredible strength and bravery of Fergal Sherry and his and Catherine’s sons who have been campaigning for CAR-T cell treatment to be made available to patients in the North at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it was to lose their wife and mother in such circumstances, but for it to happen so far away from home undoubtedly made that even more difficult."
Cllr Feehan explained how Catherine wasn't able to access treatment sixty miles down the road but instead had to travel to London, while being severely immune suppressed.
"Catherine passed away in May of this year while undergoing CAR-T treatment in King's College Hospital in London. Catherine's treatment was working, but the repeated air travel while severely immune suppressed, weakened Catherine and left her unable to fight the infection which led to her death. Catherine passed away far from home and far from her children, and here's the devastating truth, the treatment that Catherine needed was available just 60 miles down the road in Dublin, but she wasn't able to access it. Why? Because there is still no agreement between the Department of Health in the north and their counterparts in Dublin to allow northern patients to access this specialist therapy in the Republic, despite it being routinely delivered in St James's.
"This is not a capacity issue and it is not a funding issue. It is quite simply a political failure. We are now told that a CAR-T facility in Belfast may not open until 2030 and only then after accreditation. That's at least five more years of patients being forced onto planes to London or Manchester, when they could be driven to Dublin in an hour or two."
Governments north and south have committed to working together on cancer care since 1999 but there is still much to do.
Cllr Feehan continued "Let me put it plainly, no mother should have to leave her children behind to fight for her life in another country. No family should get a call saying she is going to die when the system itself has failed to give her the best fighting chance close to home.
"Lymphoma Action UK warns that flying puts cancer patients at serious risk of blood clots, deep vein thrombosis and increased risk of infection. Catherine's first journey to London was by commercial flight, having barely left hospital in Belfast for months. Subsequent journeys to London were by air ambulance, and it is really important to note that Catherine's CAR0-T treatment worked, but the travel to London weakened her and she was unable to fight the infection which led to her death. That travel and those journeys should never have been necessary."
Tragic
Speaking on the motion Rowallane Councillor Lee Surginor said "It is only tragic that the Sherry family had to travel to London for CAR-T cell therapy, a journey made more difficult by distance, stress and emotional toll of separation when such treatment could have been accessed in Dublin, just a few hours away from their home."
Cllr Lee Surginor added that his late mother had to fly to Hong Kong for proton therapy treatment for her cancer treatment - something that should have been available here.
Share Services
Slieve Gullion Councillor Martin Hearty spoke of the courage of Catherine's husband Fergal in conveying the struggles the family had to endure "As Fergal himself has said, when you're going through cancer treatment you need your family near you. It goes without saying, therefore, that we wholeheartedly support the family's campaign for all Ireland provision for CAR-T cell therapy to make sure no other family has to endure what the Sherry clan has gone through. We know that collaboration and healthcare across this island is in the interest of everyone who calls this island home. It makes sense that we share services where possible. And Catherine's case stands as a stark and harrowing reminder of the impacts of divided health care and care systems on our island."
Patients Come First
Clllr Glyn Hanna said "The DUP supports cross border co-operation on health, where the is a clear, mutual benefit in terms of timely access to vital services and treatment. However, this cannot be at the expense of Northern Ireland's invaluable access to the wider NHS. Enabling referrals from CAR-T in the Irish Republic would not be straightforward."
Cllr Hanna added "Most importantly caution must be aired in terms of quite as realistic and deliverable, but in saying that, just to add a little bit for myself, patients come first and I would like to see everybody getting the same treatment wherever"
Healthcare Systems Must Work Together
Speaking after the motion was passed Newry and Armagh MP Dáire Hughes added: “This motion reflects a growing recognition that our healthcare systems must work together across this island to deliver for patients, both north and south.
"CAR T-cell therapy is available in Dublin, and this service should be available to patients in the north too.
"We are calling on Ministers, both north and south, to take immediate steps to ensure this treatment is made accessible on an all-island basis — whether through existing cross-border arrangements or new collaborative frameworks.
"The Good Friday Agreement established healthcare as a key area for north/ south cooperation. More than two decades on, that promise has still not been fulfilled.
"Sinn Féin will continue to raise Catherine’s case at every level — including in the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee — and we will work to ensure the health needs of all communities are met and delivered through an all-island collaborative approach to healthcare."
The Motion - CAR-T Cell Therapy from Councillor Feehan
That this Council:
Recognises the urgent need for patients in Northern Ireland requiring CAR-T cell therapy to have timely and compassionate access to treatment closer to home.
Notes with deep sadness the death of Catherine Sherry, who passed away on 12th May 2025, aged just 42, in King’s College Hospital, London, while receiving CAR-T treatment.
Commends the courage and commitment of Fergal Sherry and his sons, who are now advocating for CAR-T treatment to be made available to Northern patients at St James’s Hospital in Dublin.
Acknowledges that the Department of Health in the Republic has an existing Memorandum of Understanding on All-Island Cancer Services, signed following the Good Friday Agreement in 1999 and renewed in 2021, which provides a framework for cross-border cooperation in oncology.
Further recognises that CAR-T treatment will not be available in Northern Ireland until 2030/31 at the earliest, and that access to St James’s Hospital — where CAR-T services are already in place — would allow patients to receive treatment within driving distance of home, with the vital support of their families.
We therefore call on:
1. The NI Department of Health to immediately begin negotiations with their counterparts in the Republic to secure access to CAR-T therapy at St James’s Hospital for eligible Northern Ireland patients;
2. The Irish Government to support and facilitate this cooperation as a matter of urgency;
3. This Council to write formally to Ministers Mike Nesbitt and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill requesting their intervention;
4. Other councils across Northern Ireland to support this motion and stand in solidarity with Fergal Sherry, his family, and all others who may face similar hardship.
