Marathon man’s final battle with cancer ends

HE battled cancer for 30 years, ran 20 marathons and raised over €1 million to fight the disease.

However, well-known charity runner Pat O’Connell, 55, lost his own battle after he died in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, yesterday.

The Killarney man was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease - cancer of the lymph glands - in 1977. His sister, Marie, had died from the same disease five years earlier.