Irish Examiner view: Inspiration at a tough time

Vicky Phelan and Charlie Bird

Vicky Phelan and Charlie Bird in Limerick: The openness with which both have spoken about their illnesses has opened the way for a country to talk about so many difficult subjects — including the right to decide how to die.

The country has watched in admiration as CervicalCheck campaigner Vicky Phelan spoke out on illness, mortality, and a system that failed her and so many others.

She has become a kind of 21st-century alchemist who has succeeded in transforming her own illness and despair into political action, giving hope to so many ordinary women.