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FRIENDS FOR LIFE JOHN AND LISA O'SHEA



JOHN O'SHEA is the dynamic chief executive of Goal, the international humanitarian agency. He works alongside his daughter Lisa on a range of projects in approximately 15 third-world countries. The former sports journalist and talented tennis player is famous for his outspoken views and loathing of bureaucracy and corruption, as well as his outstanding vision and dedication to the world's poor. John has been married to Judy for 37 years, and they have three other children, Stephen, Karen and Johnny.

Lisa (32) studied social science in college, and first worked for Goal in a voluntary capacity in Calcutta as a teenager. She joined the charity full-time 11 years ago, and is head of fundraising there.

Lisa recently got married to her husband Joe.

Lisa on John

As a young child, I remember Dad working as a sports journalist with the Evening Press, and he was constantly on the phone looking for scoops. I was about 11 or 12 when Goal came into our lives, and he worked from three till midnight after his journalism work there, until he decided to work in Goal full-time in 1992.

It wasn't until I went out myself to Calcutta at the age of 16 that I realised, "Oh my God, this what I've been sharing him with." We were at one of our programmes for taking child prostitutes off the streets, and I'll never forget the little children jumping up and down on him. Dad was in the middle of them, hugging them and throwing them up in the air. We have a lifetime of affection, but this was their only chance for a hug or a cuddle from a father-like figure. I realised then that it was worth sharing him, and my brothers and sister feel the same about that.

I know that a lot of people would say it's not easy to work for your father, and it's certainly not easy in my case, but once you understand Dad, you're okay. We get on brilliantly, but dealing with him can be difficult at times, because he is so opinionated and has such a one-track mind. If he sold computers and had this personality, there'd be a question mark over it! With Dad, it's all about saving people's lives and you have to admire that and understand that he's driven by it, and deal with whatever madness comes along with it. I think my wonderful mum is the real saint to have put up him for so long!

Dad's passion for the third world is overwhelming. It's actually his deep frustration that drives him, and it's in me as well. There are times when things happen and you think, "How can we possibly respond to this?" or even, "Could I please have a day off?" but Dad is never like that . . . his response is always, "We can do something about this!" He never forgets anything, and he will always come back to everything to check that you followed up on it, because the value he places on human life is extraordinary. You need an abundance of love and passion to work here, and he has that, and you need the energy and determination to overcome the obstacles that are in your way.

John on Lisa

Lisa was the first girl, so obviously she would have been the apple of any father's eye, and she was adorable as a small child. It was a great thrill when she started playing tennis at a very young age, because the whole family was steeped in it, and it was a common bond for us all. Although I was extraordinarily busy with my journalism and running Goal, I always had a fierce amount of energy, and would have given an awful lot of attention to the children because I could see how privileged we were to have them. Lisa and I always got on very well, although there were times when I would have objected to her going out to discos because of her age. I can recall pulling her out of a pub one Christmas Eve, because I felt she was too young to be there.

Lisa was the first of our family to travel to play tennis on the international circuit. She was 16 years of age, but I can't ever recall feeling overly concerned about her, because I felt she was mature for her age. When she came to Calcutta, it was very revealing, because I could see that she had a particular gra for street children and had a basic humanity about her, and that thrilled me as well.

I admire Lisa's commitment and how she cuts through the nonsense. I have been described, with a certain degree of honesty, as an angry person, and I am angry at the indifference of the international community to the poor. This means that I can inadvertently take my frustration out on other people, and I'm not the most pleasant of people if you get me in the wrong mood.

Lisa would represent the softer side of Goal.

When she is presenting tales of horrific events and the appalling performance by the international community in terms of their response, she can get the message across in a way that's more palatable than me, which makes her a very good ambassador for Goal.

I get a lot of requests to travel around the country giving talks and meeting people who have raised money, and the bulk of that work has been taken on by Lisa, which is a great load off my mind. Sometimes people complain to my secretary if I can't go to something but, invariably, once they have met Lisa and she has made her pitch, they call back and say, "Don't bother sending Mr O'Shea in future!"

Lisa got married recently, and I was quite overcome by what she said in her speech about her family life, friendships and work. I took the view that it was marvellous that she had reached a point in her life where all the things and people she values are around her. She has found real happiness in marriage, and is doing the work that so many of us believe is very worthwhile.

If you would like to donate to GOAL, please see www. goal. ie or call 01-280 9779




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