UPDATE: Tipperary TD pays tribute to CervicalCheck campaigner Vicky Phelan

The death has taken place of cervical cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan.

Ms Phelan, who lived in Limerick but was originally from Kilkenny, passed away in Milford Care Centre this morning.

Her death comes just weeks after the passing of another CervicalCheck campaigner Lynsey Bennett, who died at the age of 34.

Ms Phelan, who spoke about her health issues at a public meeting in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh, four years ago, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014. 

She had also launched her memoir, Overcoming, in Cashel library in 2019, which went on to become the An Post Book of the Year.

She received the Freedom of Limerick last February.

Ms Phelan, 48, is survived by her daughter Amelia, 16, and son Darragh, 11.

Paying tribute to Ms Phelan, Tipperary Labour TD Alan Kelly said that his thoughts were with Vicky’s 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 instead by the way she has changed things for the better for the people of Ireland.

“Rest in peace to my dear friend, Vicky. You were the best. Suaimhneas síoraí dá hanam dílís.”

Ms Phelan exposed the controversy around the national screening programme CervicalCheck, in which she and other women were not informed that cervical cancer smear test results showing them to be in the clear were actually inaccurate and the revised test results in an audit were kept from them for years.

In April 2018, she settled a High Court action for €2.5m with Clinical Pathology Labs US, without admission of liability, which had been subcontracted by the CervicalCheck national screening programme to assess the smear test results. An internal CervicalCheck audit found the original smear check result to be wrong.

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.

Ms Phelan was named as one of the BBC's 100 women in 2018.

A documentary of her life, Vicky, was screened recently.