She had a striking inner strength and dignity, says Michael D Higgins as he leads emotional tributes to Vicky Phelan
EVERYONE who met Vicky Phelan couldn’t help but be struck by her powerful inner strength and dignity, President Michael D Higgins has said as he led touching tributes to the cervical cancer campaigner.
The mum of two, 48, died in the early hours of this morning at Milford Hospice in Limerick, plunging the nation into mourning.
President Michael D Higgins said that he felt the “deepest sense of sadness” at the news of Vicky’s death.
He said: “All of us who had the privilege of meeting Vicky will have been struck by the powerful inner strength and dignity with which she not only faced her own illness, but with the sense of commitment to the public good and the rights of others with which she campaigned.
“Vicky, in all of this, made an enormous contribution to Irish society.
“Thanks to her tireless efforts, despite the terrible personal toll she herself had to carry, so many women’s lives have been protected, and will be protected in the future.
“She will be deeply missed, by all of those who were in awe of her courage, her resilience, offered not only to women but to all of us in Ireland.
“She will of course be missed above all by those closest to her. May I express my deepest condolences to Vicky’s parents Gaby and John, her husband Jim, her children Amelia and Darragh, and to all of her family and friends.”
Vicky, 48, was born in Waterford in 1974 and lived in Limerick.
She is survived by her two children, Amelia, 17, and Darragh, 11.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said her death was “very, very sad news” and he wanted to extend his deepest sympathy to her family.
He said: “I think she was a woman of extraordinary courage and integrity who stood up for the women of Ireland.
“In the history of this country, I think her actions, particularly in not signing a confidentiality agreement at that particular time outside the steps of the High Court, will live long in the memory as an example of someone who stood up against the system and the normal conventions.
“She stood up for the public interest.”
In 2011, Vicky underwent a smear test for cervical cancer.
Although her test showed no abnormalities, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014.
RADIATED WARMTH
An internal CervicalCheck review found that the original result was incorrect, but Vicky was not informed of this fact until 2017.
She sued Clinical Pathology Laboratories over the incident and the case was settled for €2.5million.
14 other women were also found to have false-negative test results.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Ní Bheidh A Leithéid Ann Arís. Vicky Phelan, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Champion of Women, Campaigner who took on the State and won. Rest in Peace.”
Vicky’s solicitor Cian O’Carroll told RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne that she was a person who “radiated warmth and good humour”.
O’Carroll, who represented Vicky in her High Court case in 2018, said that she “never stopped”.
MOST INCREDIBLE HUMAN BEING
He said: “Truth and honesty were the most important thing.
“She explained so many times how she found the evidence in her own records that there was a mistake made in her care, and the misreporting of her test was kept from her.
“She didn’t accept attempts to gag her, she was determined she was going to fight her case in court if they weren’t going to deal with her reasonably, and that nobody was going to hush her up on this, because she knew others were affected.
“That then led on to one campaign after another to ensure that other people found out the truth about what happened to them.”
Former RTE broadcaster Charlie Bird said that his “hero is gone”.
HERO GONE
He said: “My heart is broken just hearing about the passing of Vicky Phelan.
“Over the past year she gave me great support to keep fighting my terminal illness.
“This whole country should be in mourning at the passing of this remarkable human being. My heart is broken. My hero is gone.
Former Labour leader Alan Kelly said that Vicky was “the most incredible human being I’ve ever met”.
He said: “I suppose what’s really shocking is Vicky always fought back. She was the most resilient person I’ve ever met. In your heart you always knew this day would come but its still a shock because she always rebounded.
RESILIENCE
“She had some strength, she was amazing … people will never know the amount of time she gave to people coming to her for help.
“She was a friend.”
Fellow patient advocate Stephen Teap also paid tribute to his “good friend” this morning.
He said: “It is with a broken heart that we say goodbye to my great friend Vicky Phelan who got her wings today.
“5 years ago she was told she only had a few months to live, she defied all the odds and through her strength and courage became a national treasure honouring us all with her wisdom, love and great sense of humour.
“More importantly than that she became a very good friend to Oscar, Noah and I, a rock of support for us to lean on over the years. Another woman of Ireland taken from us too soon.
DEFIED ALL ODDS
“We will miss you Vicky, thank you for just being you, rest in peace my good friend.”
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: “Today we have heard the very sad news of Vicky Phelan’s passing. I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to Vicky’s family on their loss.
“Vicky leaves a legacy of enormous and enduring impact which has touched the lives of many people, and in particular women and families affected by cervical cancer.
“My thoughts are with Vicky’s family and many friends on this sad day.”
NATION IN MOURNING
The inspirational mum-of-two’s death has plunged the nation into mourning.
And Vicky told back in 2021 how she believed it would be easier for her daughter Amelia, 17, and ten-year-old son Darragh if she didn’t die at home in Limerick.
Speaking out to back a campaign to allow terminally in November 2021, Vicky said she was no longer as scared of dying as she once was.
But she said while she wanted to go on her own terms after deciding to stop chemotherapy, she feared the process being long and drawn out.
And she said she’d rather not die at home in Limerick, but in the family’s holiday home or elsewhere so her children wouldn’t have the memory of her dying at home.
She : “I think I’d rather die there (in Doonbeg) than here for the kids’ sake. Dying here would be very hard for them. The memory of it.”
PRIVATE FUNERAL
The Kilkenny native said she would like to have a private funeral and won’t have a wake, so her children wouldn’t have to witness strangers seeing her in a coffin.
But after the private funeral, she told how she wanted The Blizzards and The Stunning to play her favourite songs at a special memorial.
And she heartbreakingly revealed in February how she wanted her children to remember the ordinary days.
After helping son Darragh with his homework, she said: “For me, these are the times my children will remember…the time I spent sitting down with them being a Mammy helping out with homework but also getting down to their level and doing stuff they’re interested in. These are the days I live for.”
Vicky, who returned from the US where she had been receiving treatment in 2021, said she was only scared when she was sick – and she didn’t want to be alone after being in the States for so long.
REMARKABLE STRENGTH
She explained: “When I’m well, I’m not. When I’m sick, yes, because you worry about how it’s going to end.
“At the moment my biggest worry is ending up with some complication that I would have to go to hospital for. If I end up in hospital, nobody can come in and I’m on my own again and I’ve already spent most of the f***ing year on my own.”
And she said she didn’t want to “linger” for the sake of her beloved children.
She added: “I’m a young woman. I’ve a strong heart. I was quite fit before I got cancer. I don’t want to linger — for the kids — but, no matter how much you sedate someone, you still have to wait for the heart to go.
Vicky revealed in November 2021 she had stopped chemotherapy – as she was putting her body “through torture”.
She told Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show: “There’s nothing they can do for me.
“I just decided no more chemo, I’ll just take pembro and hopefully that will keep me going until Christmas.”
