Keane sends hospital temperatures soaring
Looking fit and tanned, and dressed in a sharp suit, the former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland star was mobbed after he cut the ribbon to officially open the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Centre inside the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork.
The first of its kind in Munster, the centre is run by Irish Cancer Society specialist nurses and trained volunteers.
It offers a free information service in the hospital, where people affected by or concerned about cancer can receive information and support.
Keane visited the hospital’s children’s ward first, and then displayed incredible stamina and patience, spending over an hour signing autographs and posing happily for photographs with staff, patients and visitors.
Patients Margaret Ryan and Sheelagh Fitzgerald were among dozens of delighted people who thronged the hospital corridors to meet him.
“I was going to throw myself at him but I managed to restrain myself,” Sheelagh said.
The beaming ladies from the hospital’s HR department, including Marie Butler, Michelle Calnan, Lisa Hunt and Stephanie Dwyer, were nearby, hoping to catch a glimpse.
Their colleague, Janet Murphy, said they were there simply “as observers” to ensure Keane got through his visit without “any health and safety issues”.
Susan Kelly said Keane made her day when he held her 11-month-old son, Oscar, who is having treatment in the hospital.
“It was lovely to meet him. It has given me a huge boost,” she said.
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