A Dumfries man who died while playing rugby in Ireland has been remembered at a charity match in Edinburgh.
Teams from the Scottish and Irish parliaments faced each other in the first annual David Hill Memorial Quaich on Saturday.
It was followed by a fundraising dinner in the city attended by Holyrood’s presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, as well as the Scottish Rugby Union President Colin Rigby, and several parliamentarians from both Scotland and Ireland, many of whom played with and knew David.
Political aide David, 30, collapsed on March 19, 2022, while playing a cross-party rugby match for Holyrood against Dail and Seanad XV at the Donnybrook Stadium in Dublin as part of the Parliamentary Six Nations.
A subsequent medical examination revealed he had a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
David, who was “rugby daft”, worked as the head of office for Scottish Tory MSP and Holyrood justice spokesman Jamie Greene.
A former player for Dumfries Saints, he was a regular at Scotland internationals.
Following his death, The David Hill Memorial Fund was set up by his devastated family and CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), in a bid to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death by supporting the charity’s cardiac screening programme.
The aim is solely to fund the cardiac screening of young people aged 14 to 35.
One in every 300 young people screened by CRY will be identified with a potentially life-threatening condition. It costs just £60 per cardiac screening.
There is currently no regular cardiac screening programme for young people in Dumfries and Galloway and David’s family hope that the money raised from charity events will help to introduce it to the area as it can help to identify a potentially life-threatening condition at the early stage.
Dr Steven Cox, chief executive of CRY said: “It takes great courage for anyone who has been affected so recently by young sudden cardiac death to be able to see beyond their own situation and to want to raise funds for CRY and prevent other people from ever having to endure the same devastating grief as they have experienced.
“So firstly, on behalf of all of us at CRY, I would like to say a huge thank you to David’s family and everyone involved in the organisation of the David Hill Memorial Quaich for their ongoing fundraising and support.
“As well as helping to raise vital funds, this event – and future events in coming years – will also raise significant awareness for CRY across Scotland, local communities and amongst parliamentarians, politicians and key decision makers.
“This could have an important impact on CRY’s wider campaign to ensure politicians understand the terrible impact these tragedies have on so many families, friends and local communities.
“Once politicians start to take young sudden cardiac death seriously, we will start to move towards a time when every young person will have the opportunity to have their heart tested.”
David’s dad Rodger said: “Saturday was a very emotional day and testament to the man David was – that’s why so many people want to remember him.
“As a family, we are still grieving and this is a very difficult week as we approach the first anniversary of his death.
“He was at times quiet and unassuming, always with a great sense of humour.
“Ultimately, David was a kind person and as his dad, I am tremendously proud of him.
“Since November, we have raised around £20,000 but we’re just at the start of this journey to really lobby for change in the Scottish and UK parliaments for a national screening programme for young people so that other families don’t have to go through the same pain that we are in.”
To donate, visit www.c-r-y.org.uk/david-hill
