Tuwn Heroine Of The Month: Esther Pepple Onolememen – Pioneering Advocate For Sickle Cell Care And Health Equity In Ireland

This month, we honour Esther Pepple Onolememen, a trailblazing clinical psychotherapist, social worker, clinical training consultant, and one of Ireland’s most influential voices in sickle cell advocacy. With over 20 years of healthcare experience, Esther has shaped national conversations on inclusion, diversity, and equitable care—especially for those living with chronic illness.

Her impressive academic journey includes two Master’s degrees—from University College Dublin (Family and Systemic Psychotherapy) and Trinity College Dublin (Social Work)—as well as a postgraduate certificate in Diversity in Mental Health from Harvard Medical School. She is currently pursuing her PhD at UCD’s Faculty of Medicine and is the first Black Irish woman to earn a special purpose degree in Patient Safety, Advocacy, and Complaints. Esther also contributes to the training of future medical professionals through occasional lectures at UCD.

But it’s Esther’s deeply personal journey that makes her story so powerful. As the mother of two daughters diagnosed with sickle cell disease—among the first known cases in Ireland—she turned her lived experience into national advocacy. After the heartbreaking loss of her eldest daughter, Reme, in 2023, Esther transformed her grief into purpose, becoming a driving force behind major changes in Ireland’s sickle cell care landscape.

Her advocacy began with informal hospital visits to support other families, which grew into seminars, training, and national awareness campaigns. In 2008, she introduced the first educational sessions on sickle cell disease at Trinity College Dublin. Since then, her work has reached over 10,000 medical students across UCD and the Royal College of Surgeons.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Esther—working with the Irish Patients
Association—secured priority status for people with sickle cell for vaccination and
cocooning, ensuring they were not left behind. In 2023, Deborah’s and her meeting with the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Colm Henry calling for urgent changes to emergency care led to a historic policy change: sickle cell is now triaged just below heart attacks in
emergency care. Her family’s work directly led to the formation of Ireland’s first national
steering committee to draft a comprehensive model of care for sickle cell disease, which is ongoing.

Esther’s impact doesn’t stop there. She founded the Sickle Cell Society Ireland and co-
founded several other transformative initiatives, including:

• Sci-Fy – Ireland’s first community-based youth support for sickle cell;
• The Reme Onolememen Sickle Cell Research Foundation (ROSCRF);
• SCAIIN, a Nigerian-based international NGO; and
• UMASCCO, the world’s first bilingual pan-African sickle cell organisation, linking
  nearly 50 NGOs across Africa.

Her youth-led campaign, #SickleCellMatters, has ignited awareness across university
campuses through sport, culture, and storytelling. She also mentors young
researchers—several of whom recently completed a ground breaking study on the daily
experiences of sickle cell patients in Ireland.

Esther currently sits on two major HSE steering committees and serves on the board of the Irish Patients Association, where she continues to advocate for equity in healthcare systems.

Through every initiative, Esther champions a powerful message: that people living with
sickle cell deserve to be seen, heard, and cared for—not just in words, but in action. Her
legacy continues to inspire a new generation of changemakers in Ireland and beyond.

Esther—your courage, compassion, and leadership is inspiring!