Family and friends of Dumfries man David Hill paid tribute to the 30-year-old during a weekend of celebration to honour his life.
On Saturday, teams from the Scottish and Irish Parliaments faced each other in the first annual David Hill Memorial Quaich at Peffermill in Edinburgh.
The Scottish team was made up of previous players and the current team including Michael Mawdsley.
David’s dad Rodger, brother Alex Service, uncle Euan Jarvie and cousin Duncan Jarvie also played as well as friends and former St Joseph’s College pupils Euan Waddell, Ben Dreyer and Lewis Fitzpatrick.
The match 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, IRFU president John Robinson and several parliamentarians from both Scotland and Ireland, many of whom played with and knew David.
Speakers included Rodger, David’s mum Sharon Duncan, Colin, John, Alison Johnstone and Euan
Waddell.
Political aide David 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.
Scotland’s First Minister paid tribute to David in the Scottish Parliament ahead of the weekend’s events that were in aid of Cardiac Risk in the Young and Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation.
Nicola Sturgeon said she “still remembers the sense of shock” when she heard David had died.
She added: “David is sadly missed by all of us across the chamber, particularly by his colleagues on the Conservative benches, but he was an example of what we should aspire to in public life and in politics.”
Following David’s death, 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.
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.
Dad Rodger said: “12 young people a week die of cardiac arrest and more than 500 have died since we lost David.
“We can’t completely stop that from happening or change the past, but we can try to help change the future for others.
“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.
“We are overwhelmed with gratefulness at the support we received at the fundraising events at the
weekend.
“As well as sadness, we are also overwhelmed at the feeling of pride at the mark our boy has made.”
To donate, visit www.c-r-y.org.uk/david-hill
