Limerick-based Carelon's DNA services to help repatriate historical Irish figure's remains
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A Limerick-based US multinational has taken an interest in repatriating the remains of Patrick Sarsfield, an Irish patriot who fought in the Williamite War from 1689 to 1691, from his resting place in Belgium.
In recent years, healthcare technology firm Carelon Global Solutions has focused on studying DNA to help its clients predict and prevent health issues. The company’s interest in Mr Sarsfield is aimed at highlighting this work while boosting the profile of its base in Munster.
“Carelon is all about predicting and preventing health care issues and one of the ways to do that is to use genetic analysis. So this project connects with our purpose as a company but also with the city in which we are headquartered,” said Ireland head for Carelon John Patrick Shaw.
Carelon Global Solutions opened a research and development facility in the National Technology Park in Limerick towards the end of 2021, the firm’s first investment in Europe where it currently employs around 200 people.
“When we arrived in Limerick, we were so impressed by the welcome and pro-business focus of the city that we wanted to contribute to the community here and are doing so across a number of streams and the Patrick Sarsfield Homecoming project is a big one for us,” said Mr Shaw.
Its base in Limerick is also used for natural language processing and artificial intelligence projects. The workforce at the facility is made up of software developers, data scientists, systems analysts and product managers.
Carelon has become a main sponsor of the campaign, led by Limerick-based Honorary Consul of France Dr Loïc Guyon, to return Mr Sarsfield’s remains to Limerick.
Mr Guyon, who initiated the campaign, said:
“We would then be looking at a formal repatriation to Ireland by the end of 2024 or early 2025,” he said.
Carelon director of data science and AI Hélène Dingreville, said the project has the potential to open doors for collaboration with France, “one of Europe’s leading healthcare systems” across research and development.
It is not clear how much the company has injected into the project to date, however, it is understood it will finance the initial archeological excavation work which is set to begin in autumn at the site in Belgium where Mr Sarsfield is said to have been buried after dying from wounds.
Mr Sarsfield, also known as the First Earl of Lucan, is best known in Munster for negotiating the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 bringing an end to the war.
The funding, combined with crowdfunding for the project, will also enable a round of DNA testing with living Irish-based descendants of Mr Sarsfield that will be key to confirming the identity of the remains.
“What drew our interest in the campaign, apart from the fact that it relates to such a pivotal moment in Limerick’s history, was that in order to determine where exactly Patrick Sarsfield is buried, we need to use genetic analysis,” said Mr Shaw.
Carelon, formally known as Legato, decided to undergo a rebrand at the end of 2022. The company is a subsidiary of Elevance Health, a major healthcare insurance provider in the US. The subsidiary also has offices in India, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.
Earlier this year, Elevance said higher premiums and a limited hit from increased surgeries kept costs under control for the insurer. The company therefore raised its full-year profit forecast above estimates.