Vicky, ‘your were the best’
Vicky Phelan, the woman who blew the lid off the cervical check scandal, visited Nenagh on a number of occasions in the years leading up to her untimely death on Monday last, aged 48.
She had close links with the local Labour TD Alan Kelly who waged a concerted campaign on her behalf and other women impacted by the scandal.
Paying tribute to her, the TD described her as his “dear friend”, and expressed sympathy with her family and friends on her passing.
At the invitation of Deputy Kelly, Ms Phelan spoke in the Abbey Court Hotel in September 2018 where she met with local people and groups to discuss her story and why she was fighting for justice for the victims of the cervical check scandal.
She was also in the Scouts Hall in the town in January 2020 to launch Deputy Kelly’s general election campaign, along with the then Tipperary Senior Hurling Manager, Liam Sheedy.
She took to Twitter at the time to say she was looking forward to a great night at the launch and being a special guest.
In an obvious allusion to her Kilkenny roots and home in Limerick, she jokingly added: “Hopefully there won’t be any sparks flying between myself and Liam Sheedy about who is going to win the All-Ireland this year.”
Deputy Kelly, who expended a great deal of his time trying to get her and other victims of the scandal justice for the wrongs done to them, said in a statement on Monday: “Rest in peace to my dear friend, Vicky. You were the best.”
Referring to the mother of two, he said his thoughts were with her family, “particularly Jim, Amelia and Darragh and all the Phelan and Kelly families.
“I’m also thinking of her good friends Lorraine Walsh, Stephen Teap and John Wall as well as many others.
“Vicky brought something special to the lives of all who knew her well and I am very lucky to have been able to call her a good friend over the last five years.
“I have said so many times both publicly and privately that the day I met Vicky, my life changed. There isn’t a person in Ireland who Vicky didn’t inspire in her tenacious fight for justice.
“When she spoke out on any issue, the nation listened. She used her experiences to help begin what will doubtless be a decade's long campaign of reform around healthcare in Ireland.
“Many words will be used to describe Vicky over the coming days, months and years. Brave, fighter, disruptor, inspiration, change-maker, straight talker and so many more.
“Those words don’t go far enough to describe the person that she was and the many legacies she will leave behind. Vicky courageously continued to fight for what was right for her and the women of Ireland right up until the very end.
“She empowered everyone in Ireland to think differently about their health, to ask questions and fight for the best treatments and health service that everyone deserves.
“As someone who knew Vicky well as a friend, I know that she won’t be defined by the State’s failings but be defined by the State’s failings, but instead by the way she has changed things for the better for the people of Ireland,” concluded Deputy Kelly.
Ms Phelan died in the early hours of Monday at Milford Hospice in Limerick. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and in April 2018, she settled a High Court action for €2.5m with Clinical Pathology Labs US, without admission of liability.
She had undergone a smear test in 2011 showing no abnormalities, before her diagnosis three years later.
An internal CervicalCheck audit found the original smear check result to be wrong.
She travelled on a number of occasions to the US for treatment.
Her campaigning led to the Scally Independent investigation and 2018 report into the controversy.
It also led to the establishment of the 221+ support group and a State apology.
She wrote a memoir, ‘Overcoming’, in 2019 which became the An Post Book of the Year.
She was named as one of the BBC's 100 women in 2018.
A documentary of her life called ‘Vicky’ was screened recently.
Ms Phelan was born in Waterford in 1974 and lived in Limerick, having always worked in the educational area.