PATRICK O’DONOVAN HAS returned to hospital, Tánaiste Simon Harris has confirmed. 

The Limerick minister for culture was being treated at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on Friday.

O’Donovan has spoken publicly about his ongoing battle with his diagnosis of deep frontal lobe epilepsy, which has caused him to collapse on a number of occasions while on political duties.

It is the second occasion in less than a month that the Limerick politician has been treated in UHL.

He had been recuperating at home after being discharged from UHL, having suffered a medical emergency as he hosted a meeting of European Union Telecommunications ministers, held at the University of Limerick (UL), on 13 October.

On that day, he was rushed from UL to UHL and treated at the Limerick hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. 

Back in hospital 

Answering questions from the media in Cork today ahead of his party’s ard fheis which kicks off on Saturday, Simon Harris said he spoke to the minister today, confirming that he was in hospital. 

“Out of respect for Patrick, I’m not going to provide a running commentary on his health, other than to say, it is a statement of fact that he’s obviously on leave for medical reasons at the moment.

“His family did say that he, if you remember the statement that his family issued at the time, and I’m paraphrasing, but they did say that his new treatment would need time to bed down, and part of that treatment will potentially require, from time to time, observations or perhaps seeking medical attention or medical care,” said Harris.

He added:

So while he may be back in hospital now, it is part of his ongoing treatment of bedding down in his hospital treatment…

“All I can tell you is that I spoke to Patrick. He’s in a good space, and they’re working to get his treatment right.”

Family statement last month

On 16 October, a public statement issued on behalf of the O’Donovan family, via the minister’s Instagram account, said: “Patrick’s interdisciplinary team at University Hospital Limerick are working with him to ensure his return to his department as soon as new treatment has bedded down.”

“He is heartened by the support for his long-term Cabinet career demonstrated by his colleagues,” added the statement.

Following this, Taoiseach Micheál Martin agreed to a request from Tánaiste Simon Harris, that Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke would take on O’Donovan’s duties until he had made a full recovery.

O’Donovan was consulted on who would take over his ministerial portfolio while he was on sick leave.

Last Tuesday, elected representatives of the Municipal District of Newcastle West agreed to dispatch a letter of support to O’Donovan, who is a former representative of Limerick County Council, which amalgamated with Limerick City Council in 2014.

O’Donovan’s relationship with his party leader Simon Harris has made for much speculation of late.

Harris admitted he had telephoned O’Donovan directly before the Limerick TD took ill on 13 October.

The Fine Gael leader denied it had been an angry exchange, and he said he was “annoyed” that a minister from his party had spoken to The Sunday Times about O’Donovan’s illness and future as a cabinet member.

O’Donovan described the anonymous Fine Gael source speaking to the newspaper as “a slap in the face” to him.

Earlier this week, a government spokesperson told reporters that O’Donovan’s return to work would be “guided by medical advice” and that the Fine Gael leader had trust in his cabinet colleagues and full confidence in O’Donovan.

Last January, the Limerick TD gave a media interview and told how he was diagnosed with epilepsy over a decade ago.

In June 2023 he collapsed in the Dáil and was later diagnosed with deep frontal lobe epilepsy.

“I thought my job was gone, my ability to be able to function is gone, I’m going to wind up in a situation where I start having these seizures in public,” he told the Irish Examiner.

O’Donovan said then that he initially “didn’t want to speak openly about my health” but he eventually felt “I have a duty to stand up for myself”.

With reporting by Christina Finn in Cork.