A memorial service for the late Vicky Phelan took place in Kilkenny earlier today.
The Cervical Check campaigner sadly passed away in the early hours of November 14 at Milford Hospice in Limerick aged 48.
She was laid to rest following a private funeral last week.
Family and friends of Vicky were joined by members of the public at a special memorial service in the Church of the Assumption in her native Mooncoin in Co. Kilkenny on Sunday afternoon.
According to Vicky’s sister Lyndsey Kelly, the celebration had been planned for months.
She said: “Today was about celebrating what she loved. Her first love was her family, and music her second love. That’s what she wanted.”
Lyndsey added that the family will continue to cry and laugh in Vicky’s absence, saying: “That’s what we are going to try and do it Vicky’s way.”
Speaking on behalf of Vicky’s husband Jim and two children, her friend John Wall thanked those at her memorial service for sharing their time with them.
He said: “Vicky had wanted an upbeat occasion where people could gather in a celebration of life and I can’t begin to tell you how much this all means to the three of us.”
“We’re incredibly proud of Vicky, all that she achieved and the amazing person that she was. Through the toughest of times she shared incredible strength looking after us, looking out for us and ensuring we always did our best as a family.”
Vicky’s favourite band The Stunning performed their song ‘An Empty Feeling’ at the memorial service, while Bressie performed his song ‘Postcards’ – which he said Vicky had asked him to sing “when the time came”.
A service celebrating the life of Vicky Phelan has heard that "a nation of people got to love her" as much as her family loved her. Family and friends of the late CervicalCheck campaigner gathered today for a special memorial in her honour | Read more: https://t.co/jQWS2TdwCd pic.twitter.com/f36hYZLwkD
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 27, 2022
Vicky received a false negative test after she went for a cervical smear test back in 2011.
Three years later, the Kilkenny native was diagnosed with cancer, and in January 2017, she was informed that she had months to live.
In April 2018, Vicky was awarded €2.5m in damages in the High Court over the error, and her story led to the CervicalCheck scandal.
At the time, the 48-year-old stood at the steps of the High Court and gave an impassioned speech about how the system had horrendously let her down and cost her her life.
The CervicalCheck scandal is now known as one of the worst women’s health scandals in Irish history.
After receiving her terminal diagnosis, Vicky used her platform to fight for justice, and highlighted the lack of cancer treatments available in Ireland.
The mother-of-two was forced to travel to the US on a number of occasions for treatment.
In 2019, Vicky penned a memoir called Overcoming, and a documentary following her life recently aired in Irish cinemas.
