School heart test campaign in memory of former pupil Ellen Cassidy

Every pupil at a Cork city school is set to get cardiac screening as part of a scheme that remembers a tragic former student. Margaret Donnellan finds out more

Sixth year students at St Angela’s College, Katherine Murphy, Deputy Head Girl, Maggie O’Sullivan, Head Girl, and Emma Dunphy, with Violet Cassidy, mother of Ellen Cassidy, at the launch of Pledge A Heart Test, a fundraising campaign to give every student in St Angela’s College a cardiac health screening. Picture: Darragh Kane

Student welfare is at the heart of everything at St Angela’s College on St Patrick’s Hill in Cork city.

“We talk about educating the whole person,” explains principal Pat Curran. “That’s not just a simple phrase. Parents entrust their daughters to us, and we have a real responsibility that comes with that.

“We want them to achieve academically, whatever their potential. We also want them to be happy. We want them to be confident.

“And we need them to be safe and healthy as well.”

It is this emphasis on student health and wellbeing that has inspired the school’s new ‘Pledge A Heart Test’ campaign. The initiative aims to grant every student a cardiac screening before the end of the 2026/27 school year.

The school hopes to raise €50,000 to ensure that every student can avail of this screening.

“Everybody should be screened,” says Pat.

Nobody should be disadvantaged, no family should be turned away based on financial circumstances.

While parents are asked to pledge €100 for their own daughter’s test, they, along with past pupils, local businesses, and other friends of the school are invited to pledge a heart test for a student whose family may not be able to afford it.

Ellen Cassidy, who died aged 24 of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), and was a former pupil of St Angela's College in Cork city

When the St Angela’s Parents’ Council came together to discuss wellbeing initiatives for the students, a cardiac screening programme was a clear priority.

The campaign has been launched in memory of past pupil, Ellen Cassidy, who died tragically of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) while completing the Cork City Marathon in June, 2025.

Ellen’s family, led by her mother Violet — also a past pupil of the school — have come on board as patrons of the campaign via the Ellen Cassidy Foundation, which was set up by the family to raise money for causes important to them and Ellen.

“Ellen joined the school in 2013,” recalls Pat. “She was a great person, an avid swimmer, just full of joy and energy. Every person who had the pleasure to meet Ellen would get a warmth from her, and a smile. She swam at a competitive level, but she never showcased that she was tired from getting up at half-five or six in the morning to swim with her swimming club before she went into school.

“She just gave so much back. She’s a role model to the girls here about living life, and you can see that in the sentence that her Foundation has captured as their mantra — ‘what would Ellen do’?”

For the St Angela’s community, Ellen’s death was a sobering reminder of the fragility of life. “They’re not just girls in the school here,” says Pat. “They’re not identified by a roll number. We know them and we’re very protective of them.”

Many students at St Angela’s are involved in sport.

“You watch them going out,” says Pat. “Every day there’s somebody going out with their gear bag, and there’s somebody excited about a competition or a match. And you naturally think that they’re young and fit and healthy.

I think that the frightening reality that comes into my focus now is the thought, ‘Does one of those girls have an underlying heart condition?’ And one of them may.

SADS is often associated with sport and other high intensity physical activities. Secondary school, however, can also be a time of significant emotional stress in some young people’s lives.

“You can be a Leaving Cert student who is not interested in sport but carries a huge amount of stress, and stress can find your weakness, whatever that weakness is,” says Pat. “It could be migraines, it could be back pain, but equally it could be a heart issue. So I think everybody, whether active in sport or otherwise, just wants to get a clean bill of health.”

Research suggests that one in 300 people may carry an underlying cardiac abnormality without knowing it. Pat continues: “A young person can appear fit and healthy and still be at risk. That’s why screening matters to me. It’s why screening matters to the parents. It’s why the girls here speak about it.”

Maggie O’Sullivan and Katherine Murphy are the head and deputy head girls of St Angela’s. The sixth year students lead active lifestyles, alongside the everyday stress that comes with preparing for the Leaving Cert, but neither have previously had the opportunity to be screened for cardiac issues. Ellen Cassidy’s story has affected them and their fellow students greatly.

“It’s really important for us to get screened,” explains Katherine, “because we’ve learned that heart issues can impact anyone, regardless of your health status or your lifestyle, like Ellen Cassidy. So we really want to learn from her story and harness that to do good.”

Maggie agrees: “It’s so important that people can do the things they love without worrying... It’s a weight off our shoulders to get this kind of scan done. I feel like people wouldn’t have thought about this kind of health condition and that it could possibly occur before the launch of this screening, but I think now people will definitely be interested and prepared.”

The students’ cardiac screening will be delivered by Cork-based company Advanced Medical Services (AMS).

“AMS provide programmes based on the guidance of the European Society of Cardiology and the International Olympic Committee,” says Pat. “So it’s to a very high level. And each result is reviewed by a consultant cardiologist — it’s that detailed.”

Screening will take place on site at the school, with parents receiving results via a secure online portal within 10 working days.

Pat believes the screening can provide reassurance to all students and their parents, and hopes every student will receive good news. The school community, however, is prepared for the possibility that the programme may flag issues for some students.

“I think there’s courage in what we’re doing,” he says, “because you may unearth a few things. And I hope that if we do, it at least brings peace to people that they can put preventative measures in place, or interventions of a medical nature.”

Screening of all 500 students at the school is set to begin in March, 2027. While the campaign target is 500 ‘hearts’ — €50,000 to screen every current student — any surplus monies raised will be put towards screening of new students in 2027-2028.

Ideally, screening will take place every two to three years, or roughly twice during each students’ secondary school career. Pat hopes the wider community will rally around the school to support this campaign.

“We appreciate that €100 is a lot,” he says. “But if one person or one business pledges €100, then one girl gets screened, one heart gets checked, and potentially one life is protected. Is that not the essence of what this is? You’re protecting the lives of young people who are the future of tomorrow.”

Pat hopes the campaign will help to inspire other schools in Cork and elsewhere to roll out screening programmes of their own: “We hope that from the learning that we have in organising this and putting it in place, that we could actually help or advise other schools and encourage them to go down the same path.”

Students Maggie and Katherine are proud, but not surprised, that St Angela’s is the first all-girls’ school in Cork city to launch a cardiac screening programme.

“St Angela’s has always been an innovative school in finding ways to improve student life, so it came as no surprise that we would be leading the way with this type of initiative,” says Maggie.

Katherine adds:

I’ve always felt very cared for and valued in my school community by the staff and the initiatives they run. They value student voice and our happiness and place in the school. This just amplifies by tenfold the feeling I get from St Angela’s of being cared for and valued.

St Angela’s is setting an example for others to follow, and it’s all with Ellen Cassidy’s legacy in mind. As Pat reflects: “One young woman’s memory is helping us to look after the hearts of the young girls who are coming after her. And is that not just the spirit of generosity?”

You can Pledge a Heart Test for a St Angela’s College student online via idonate.ie/event/pledgeaheartteststangelas26. All proceeds go directly towards funding heart testing for students at the school.