'Get up, dress up, show up and never give up': Family of cancer victim helping others battling disease

“No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up” - such fighting talk inspired supporters of the late Breeda McGrath, not least her beloved husband Mattie, to come up with a way of not just honouring her memory, but of helping others battling cancer.

Breeda, from Kilfinane, Co Limerick, had breast cancer and died aged 50 last January, but despite the heartbreak of losing his soulmate, Mattie threw himself wholeheartedly into continuing her passion for charitable work. The upshot was a massive turnout for the Limerick Ladies’ Mini Marathon last September where 64 of her supporters togged out - men in drag and women with t-shirts featuring Breeda’s spirited motto - among them Bridget Leonard, her 77-year-old mother.