| Eileen Kerr |
 Eileen Kerr worked initially as a nursery school teacher. Eileen then became involved in a family centre in Belfast run by
Bryson House (voluntary organisation in Belfast). From there she gradually moved into social work and was seconded from Bryson
House to obtain a professional qualification. After qualifying she worked for another voluntary organisation and then joined
the North and West Belfast Authorities to work with disturbed children and families. Eileen also worked for a period with
Barnados and piloted a new method of working with children and their parents in the workers own home - “Care Givers Scheme”.
This was followed a few years later by a move into hospital social work. During that time Eileen undertook some training with
Cruise in bereavement counselling and became a Cruise counsellor. It was through the latter that she first became interested
in working with people with a terminal illness. Her senior at the hospital also suggested that she might be more suited to
working with the terminally ill. In 1990 a part-time social worker post at the Marie Curie Centre in Belfast was advertised.
Eileen applied and was appointed to the job in August of that year. She begins by talking about what the Centre was like when
she first joined and her role as social worker, particularly the changes that she introduced, her efforts to set up a bereavement
service, both for adults and children; and the reaction of the other staff to these initiatives. She also discusses the role
of the social worker within the multidisciplinary team; the main problems she has encountered; the principle changes that
have occurred; local community perceptions of the Centre; the advantages and disadvantages of being part of a wider organisation;
the impact of the religious and political situation in Northern Ireland; the geographical separation of Northern Ireland from
the rest of the UK; and their relationship with the other hospices in the Province. Eileen ends by talking about what she
feels the future holds for the Centre.
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| Interview conducted by Clare Humphreys, 7 August 2000 |
| Interview Duration: 40 minutes |
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