A short tribute to Elaine Flannery by her children 

Our mother was a beautiful woman in so many ways

Elaine Flannery with her husband David: 'To her husband she was a loyal partner and best friend, there were no secrets, there were no games.'

Not every bereaved family is afforded such a public forum to honour their loved ones — we are grateful and respectful of the opportunity to do so.

Our mother, Elaine Flannery (née Sullivan) was a beautiful woman in so many ways. Her warm smile had a way of putting friends and strangers alike at ease. They felt no judgement because it wasn’t there. She was sensitive to people, was soft with them and made them feel understood. She had a calming influence on every social situation.

Her ability to tune in to the human condition was exemplified in her love of song and story, her care and empathy would flow through every note she sang.

She paid no heed to traditional borders of gender roles. She took an interest in everything, she was not afraid of physical work and had a grasp of many trades, never afraid of DIY, even when it Ecame to wedding dresses.

She had an MSc in microbiology from UCC and was a lecturer at Cork Institute of Technology. Dad tells us she put such care into giving feedback on her first-year student lab reports that the students eagerly awaited her helpful remarks, which was deeply gratifying and a cause of delight to her.

She was very witty and loved to laugh. Many nights, she and her family would sit together and it was the unspoken goal to make her laugh her lovely laugh, usually by way of friendly jibes and impersonation of each other’s idiosyncrasies.

To her family, she was a bedrock of love. There was nothing she didn’t know about her children, even if she wasn’t explicitly told. 

To her husband she was a loyal partner and best friend, there were no secrets, there were no games. It was all too good to be true.

She did suspect what was later confirmed — that she had been given a false negative on her smear test of November 2010.

Elaine Flannery: 'She fought with the passion of someone who loved life because she did, no part of her wanted to die.'

It was a terrible possibility to contend with, that she was suffering because of a mistake and so much time had passed without it being addressed. 

She fought cancer most bravely, she would not complain, and she held on to hope, she was a strong woman and she believed in herself as she knew she had to at that time. She would walk every day she felt strong enough, she ate well, and rested well as per her doctors’ advice. 

She fought with the passion of someone who loved life because she did, no part of her wanted to die. All the love she brought into this world, all the happy children she would miss, wedding days, grandchildren, songs, laughter.

She died in her home in Blarney on October 26, 2014, surrounded by her family.

After a period of grief the family, led by Dad and son Brian, set out to discover whether or not Elaine’s suspicions were correct. The grief would return once more upon receiving the results of the reviews of Elaine’s 2010 slide. 

The independent expert from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden concluded that reporting the sample as normal should be classified as a “breach of duty”.

Furthermore, they noted their assessment of what they read on the slide was in harmony with the advanced stage of the tumour when diagnosed in 2012. 

The RCOG Review report stated that the sample “contained high-grade abnormal cells, which had they been detected would have prompted direct referral”. It concluded it is likely the cancer would have been prevented or diagnosed at an earlier stage.

As a family, we would like to encourage women to continue to get screenings as the message should not get lost that it absolutely saves lives. And it could have saved Elaine’s.

To the family, this felt like robbery, and we could hardly bear to think about what so easily could have been. The decision then had to be made on whether or not to bring a case against the parties involved. It was not a simple choice, as a private family, aware of how lucky we are when viewed in relation to much other suffering in this world. 

The abiding reason to fight for some justice and not simply move on, was that it is precisely what Elaine would have done for any of us.

By now, it is well known we were disappointed with the HSE for not offering us a simple apology, something that wouldn’t have compromised them in any way but would have given a certain amount of solace to her immediate family as well as to her mother, sisters, and brothers.

The refusal to apologise goes along with the refusal to admit liability. For families yet to conclude their cases, we ask that the HSE reconsider their attitude, and offer a message of regret, if not culpability. That they might have some form of closure, which we have been denied.

As a family, we would like to encourage women to continue to get screenings as the message should not get lost that it absolutely saves lives. And it could have saved Elaine’s.