Una Healy has paid tribute to her close friend Lynsey Bennett on the first anniversary of her death.
The Cervical Check campaigner sadly passed away at her home in Co. Longford on October 27th, 2022, at the age of 34.
Sharing a photo of them together on Instagram today, Una wrote: “Lynsey, it’s been a year today since you left this life, but your memory remains deeply in my heart.”
“I miss you so much,” she added.
Una and Lynsey had grown close in the years before her death, and brought their children on a family holiday to Disneyland last summer.
Speaking on The Six O’Clock Show after her passing, Una said: “I just miss her so much already. She was a very, very special person.”
“She came into my life in the last couple of years. We shared some of the fondest memories I’ve ever had.”
“We went on a family holiday together in Disneyland during the summer. She came into my life and she changed my whole perspective on life because she had such a positive outlook on things.”
“She lived her life to the full, and my heart goes out to her family, her friends, and especially to her two little girls Hailee and Zoe.”
Lynsey’s solicitor Gillian O’Mahony confirmed the sad news of her passing in a statement last October.
She wrote: “It is with great sadness that the family of Lynsey Bennett wish to announce that Lynsey passed away peacefully last night.”
“Lynsey was a very special person. Lynsey’s beautiful girls, father, sisters, family and friends are heartbroken at the passing of Lynsey at the young age of 34 years and would appeal for privacy at the moment.”
Lynsey, who had over 64k followers on Instagram, had been battling cervical cancer since 2017.
The mother-of-two was one of many women affected by the Cervical Check scandal, as she was diagnosed in January 2017 following a series of smears which failed to detect cervical cancer.
In February 2021, the mother-of-two settled her High Court case against the HSE and the laboratory involved in her missed cancer diagnosis for an undisclosed sum.
Speaking outside court, Lynsey said she hoped it would help secure her children’s future.
“I hope I have done enough to secure you both a future free from financial worries and that even with me not here to guide you that you can both pursue your dreams and remember Mammy loves you,” she said at the time.
Lynsey used her Instagram page (‘Cancer With Gratitude) to raise awareness of cervical cancer, and to update the public on her ongoing treatment.
The 34-year-old also advocated for more breakthrough cancer treatments to be brought to Ireland.
In the two years before her death, she was forced to travel to Germany and Mexico to undergo treatment that is not available in Ireland.
Lynsey is survived by her beloved daughters Zoe, 15, and Hailee, 10.
