President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to Vicky Phelan, who he says has made a “enormous contribution” to Irish society through her “tireless efforts.”
Mrs Phelan, a cervical cancer campaigner, died Monday morning at Milford Hospice in Limerick.
In a statement, President Higgins said that anyone who had the privilege of knowing Ms. Phelan would be impressed by the “powerful inner strength and dignity” with which she faced her illness.
“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,” he said, reports RTE.
President Higgins expressed his condolences to Mrs. Phelan’s husband, children, family and friends.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to Ms. Phelan, calling her a woman of “extraordinary courage and integrity”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Martin said she was a woman “who stood up for the women of Ireland, but not just the women of Ireland but women globally”, reports RTE.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that Ireland has “lost a woman of limitless courage, compassion and strength”, reports RTE.
He described Ms. Phelan as a “shining example of the power of the human spirit” and said her fight to uncover the truth and the courage with which she faced her illness “made her an inspiration to us all”, reports RTE.
Ms Phelan’s friend, former Labor leader and health minister Alan Kelly, said she was “the most incredible human being I’ve ever met”, adding that the news of her death was “devastating”.
Speaking on the same programme, Mr Kelly 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 it’s still a shock because she always rebounded. 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,” he said, reports RTE.
Members of the 221+ Cervical Cancer Support Group said they were “shattered” by the news of Ms Phelan’s death.
“She told us this day would come but she fought so hard and so well that we couldn’t let ourselves think it would happen. Our hearts go out to Jim, Amelia and Darragh and to Vicky’s Mam and Dad, her sisters and brothers and her extended family. Our pain is suffocating just now but it is nothing compared to their loss,” the group said in a statement, reports RTE.
It said that Ms. Phelan spoke up in 2018 because she wanted those in power, those in charge, to learn from her mistakes.
“Let those words be her legacy. Cervical screening saves lives. It failed Vicky in life. In her memory those with responsibility must ensure that it never fails others,” reports RTE.
Attorney Cian O’Carroll, who represented Ms Phelan in her Superior Court case in 2018, said she “never stopped”, saying “truth and honesty were the most important thing” for her.
According to RTE, Mr O’Carroll 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. She fought for all that while she was fighting for her own life, to extend her life so that she could give the love and support to her family and receive their love and support in return. And that’s why I think people warmed to her. People had a sense she was sincere and she was honest and brave, and truth and honesty were so important to her.”
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly expressed his condolences to Ms Phelan’s family.
“Vicky leaves a legacy of enormous and enduring impact which has touched the lives of many people, in particular women and families affected by cervical cancer,” the minister said, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said Phelan was an activist who took on the state and won.
Vicky Phelan, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Champion of Women, Campaigner who took on the State and won. Rest in Peace,” Ms McDonald wrote on Twitter, reports RTE.
Higher and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said today is “a utterly heartbreaking day”.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, he said Vicky Phelan “transformed this country and will continue to do so. Today the country has lost an incredible advocate and an incredible person. And in many ways, those of us who knew Vicky and knew how sick she was knew that this day would always come, but it’s still very shocking when it does actually arrive,” reports RTE.
He said that she “genuinely, has changed the country for the better. There are things that have happened in Ireland that would not have happened were it not for Vicky Phelan; the Scally Report being one, the new women’s health taskforce, new drugs like Pembro, so much has happened because of her,” reports RTE.
Orla O’Connor of the National Council of Women in Ireland described the death of the cervical cancer campaigner as “incredibly sad”, saying she meant “so much to us all”.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “Such incredibly sad news – there aren’t enough words to describe the loss of Vicky Phelan, sincerest sympathies to Vicky’s family and friends, Vicky meant so much to us all and we have so much to thank her for all she did for women in Ireland,” reports RTE.
Former RTÉ broadcaster Charlie Bird, a friend of Phelan’s, said his “hero is gone”.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News At One, he said Ms. Phelan has been her hero ever since he met her, calling her her “lifeline” in dealing with a terminal illness.
“When I went to meet her at her home in Limerick, it turned out as if I was meeting an old pal. Almost for the past year, Vicky has been my lifeline to keep fighting my terminal illness. Today we have all lost a national hero and one of the most incredible human beings. My sympathies go out to her family, but also to all the women of Ireland who have lost a champion to their causes. Vicky Phelan will be close to my heart as long as I am alive. We have all lost an incredible friend,” reports RTE.
John Wall, a cancer campaigner and close friend of Vicky Phelan, said Ireland has lost an amazing person, mother, wife and friend.
Speaking to News At One about RTÉ, he described her as “an extraordinary human being that fought beyond belief to live” and said that she was an extraordinary friend of hers.
“We talked, we laughed, we cried. We shared life experiences together and it’s something I’ll treasure for the rest of my days and I’m very very fortunate and privileged to have Vicky Phelan in my life and to call her my best friend,” reports RTE.
The Irish Patients’ Association said it was saddened by Ms Phelan’s death, describing her as a “woman, mother, friend, and a warrior patient advocate who fearlessly upheld patients’ rights and spoke truth to power”, reports RTE.
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