Team Vicky: From royalty to rock stars, Vicky Phelan had high-profile supporters

Jennifer Stevens recounts the high-profile people who felt privileged to meet the plucky campaigner

Vicky Phelan with her son Darragh. Picture: Sean Curtin True Media.

There can be no doubt of the esteem in which everyone in Ireland holds Vicky Phelan, but her courage, strength, and bravery have impressed everyone from royalty to rock stars. The health campaigner had a unique ability to connect not only with the public but with high-profile people too.

This will come as no surprise to Vicky’s beloved parents, John and Gaby. When she was just aged three and three quarters, and demanding to be allowed to start school, her mum marched her down to meet Mr Dineen, the principal of Carrigeen National School in Co Kilkenny. Gaby was expecting her to be dissuaded by the meeting, but Vicky had a plan. She stood up tall on her chair, pulled a book from her satchel and started reading.

Impressed, and amused, Mr Dineen allowed her to join school ahead of schedule.

It’s one of the earliest stories in Vicky’s autobiography, Overcoming, but one that tells you a lot about the woman she was to become and the types of people she would impress.

For many of us, the first time we heard about Vicky Phelan was during her court case. When it came time to take the stand, she was so ill that in the days preceding her appearance, she was unsure if she would physically and mentally be able to do it. However, she gathered every fibre of strength she had and did it for all the women affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

When the case was settled, Vicky stood outside the High Court in Dublin to deliver her victim impact statement. It was devastating in its honesty about why she was fighting. After the case, Mr Justice Kevin Cross described her as “the most impressive witness he had ever encountered”.

Politicians were also impressed. Then minister for health, Simon Harris, called her after the settlement and promised that he would do whatever he could to get to the bottom of what had happened.

Vicky Phelan pictured with her family from left: Dad John Kelly, husband Jim, son Darragh and mother dad Gaby. Picture: Sean Curtin True Media.

He spoke about the scandal in the Dáil and addressed Vicky directly at the end of his speech saying: “I want her to know, as minister for health, I don’t just apologise in the role that I hold, I want to take action to make sure that we learn from it as a system.”

It wasn’t just politicians who held Vicky in high esteem. When her friends and family were raising funds to pay for her to go to the US to participate in a clinical trial they got in touch with her favourite band, The Stunning, to see if they would play at the fundraiser. They were touring and couldn’t. But a few months later, they saw Vicky on TV and their manager got back in touch. She said that the band were very taken with Vicky’s story and were inspired by the fight that she was putting up to the Government and that they wanted to play a private gig for her friends and family. Vicky was thrilled.

As she was getting glammed on the afternoon of the gig, she got a call from her consultant Dr Fennelly who told her that there was significant shrinking on her tumours and that they had reduced by 50%. At the gig that night, Steve Wall, lead singer with The Stunning, called Vicky up on stage with him so that she could make an announcement and tell the crowd her good news. They were euphoric.

The Stunning were Vicky’s favourite band, and that gig was one of her best memories but what she didn’t realise then was that she had even more famous fans.

In 2018, Vicky was a special guest at the British ambassador’s residence for the Irish visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. When Vicky introduced herself, Meghan said that she already knew who she was and that she had been following her story. Vicky said she was astounded.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Leo Varadkar. Picture: Paul Faith/PA Wire

“She was lovely; she seemed very nice and she was very interested,” she told reporters at the event. “I was amazed; I mean I don’t know if I even said anything I was so gobsmacked; I just said, ‘Oh my god thank you’ or something like that. I couldn’t really believe that she knew who I was, to be honest.

“She just said, ‘you are doing great work keep doing it’ and I said, ‘yeah, I will don’t worry’.”

As thrilled as she was with her encounter with Meghan, an even better one was about to happen at the same event. Vicky described it in her book: “The highlight of the evening for me, however, was meeting Mary Robinson, who told me that she admired my resolve. I told Mary that I was just a stubborn bitch. It was out of my mouth before I remembered who I was speaking to. We both burst out laughing. She said that I reminded her of her younger self, but that she preferred the term ‘sophisticated bad girl’.”

Former Irish president Mary Robinson.

It seemed that being a sophisticated bad girl was something to be rewarded and Vicky would have to get used to being honoured.

In 2018, she was one of 100 Inspiring Women on a list published by the BBC. This honour was in recognition of her outstanding contribution to society. The list featured other exceptional women from around the world, including Chelsea Clinton and former Australia prime minister Julia Gillard.

In the same year, she received a Special Recognition Award from Irish Tatler at its Woman of the Year Awards and was named Kilkenny Person of the Year.

But the honours that meant the most to her because of her passion for, and career in, education were the honorary doctorate conferred on Vicky by the University of Limerick and the honorary fellowship awarded by the Waterford Institute of Technology.

In his speech, Dr Des Fitzgerald, then president of UL, said: “Some, like Vicky Phelan, have had a major impact on people’s lives, just by the way they live their lives. I’ve often said it’s the person who honours the degree, not the degree that honours the person.

“Vicky, we are delighted that you have accepted to be conferred by your alma mater at the University of Limerick. You bring great honour to this university and to our community, and for this, we honour you.”

Vicky Phelan with University of Limerick President, Prof Des Fitzgerald. Picture: Sean Curtin True Media.

A natural communicator, Vicky often appeared on TV and radio. She was a regular on the Ray D’Arcy Show, was interviewed on Claire Byrne Live and appeared four times on The Late Late Show.

In her book, she wrote about the toll that those interviews and appearances took on her: “The constant media interviews and meetings were taking a lot out of me, but I needed to keep going. We needed answers and systemic change: proof that this could never happen again.”

Vicky was back in studio with Ryan Tubridy for a Late Late Show appearance in November, where she spoke about her decision to stop chemotherapy to spend more time with her children. “I’d rather be well and have a shorter time frame. I’d like my children to have memories of doing stuff with me and if I die sooner, so be it,” she said.

She also joked about the process of planning her own funeral, saying: “I’m a control freak. No one will be planning anything without my say so.”

The contribution of Vicky Phelan to Irish society and the impact she has had on people in every walk of life is immeasurable. Her own words sum it up: “Whatever happens next, I know that my struggles will not have been in vain. Everything that happened in my life, happened to make me, me. And in the end, I hope that my life will have meant something. It will have been worth something.”

Vicky Phelan. Picture: Cathal Noonan

20/07/2018 Vicky Phelan who received a Gamechanger Ambassador Award during the Womans Way & Beko Mum of the Year Awards at The Gibson Hotel, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney Collins

Vicky Phelan at the Network Ireland Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2018, Roseann Heavey, president of Network Ireland presented The Trish Murphy Memorial Award to Vicky Phelan for her outstanding contribution to women in Ireland The Trish Murphy Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution was created in memory of a woman that excelled in her field. Trish Murphy was a past Network Dublin President and national President. This award is presented to someone who is not involved with Network Ireland but who has made a significant contribution to their field. Picture: Andrew Downes, Xposure

26/06/18 Vicky Phelan pictured with her son Darragh. Vicky was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate given to her in recognition of her exceptional commitment to improving womenÕs healthcare in Ireland. University of Limerick (UL) conferred an honorary doctorate on university alumna and former employee, Vicky Phelan. UL president Dr Des Fitzgerald praised Vicky for her selfless commitment to public service, describing her as an inspiration to students, staff and the wider university community. Picture: Sean Curtin/True Media.

Vicky Phelan at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2019 at The Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland - 20.11.19. Picture: VIPIRELAND.com

Irish Examiner, Feelgood feature. Limerick City. Vicky Phelan Picture: Cathal Noonan

A digital artwork of Vicky Phelan is projected onto the GPO in Dublin to mark the release of a feature documentary about her life next week. 'Vicky' tells the story of how the Limerick woman revealed issues with Ireland's cervical screening programme CervicalCheck. It airs in cinemas on October 7. Picture date: Thursday September 29, 2022.

02/11/2018. Labour's 70th National Conference. Picture (LtoR) Stephen Teap and Vicky Phelan after receiving the Jo Cox Award by Labour Women in the Ballsbridge Hotel at the Labour day conference on day 2. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Vicky Phelan and Ryan Tubridy backstage at the Late Late Show

22/10/2019 CervicalCheck State Apology. Vicky Phelan on her way into the Dáil (Leinster House) to hear the Taoiseach apologise to the victims of the CervicalCheck controversy/Scandal. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Vicky Phelan at Cervical Check Patient Support Group, held at Farmleigh, Dublin. October 2018. Picture: Paul Sherwood

Vicky Phelan. Picture: Naomi Gaffey.

‘Overcoming’ by Vicky Phelan and Naomi Linehan, a book written about truth and bravery through Vicky’s remarkable personal story. Picture: MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

1/8/2018 Cervical Cancer Scandals. Cervical cancer victim Vicky Phelan speaking to the media in Government Buildings today after her meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, over the recent court cases where Ruth Morrissey had to endure several days in court despite previous assurance that this would not happen. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

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