Many stunned, heartfelt words have been spoken about Vicky Phelan in the hours since her death was announced on Monday morning. Fearless campaigner; champion for women’s health; loyal, wise and wickedly funny friend; adoring mother to Amelia and Darragh, wife to Jim, daughter to Gaby and John Kelly. But to most, she was simply “Vicky” – the shorthand a tribute to her impact on Irish society, and the affection with which she was so widely held.
She had revealed on social media recently that her health was poor, and so while the news of her death should not have been a shock, it arrived like a collective, wounding blow. She defied the odds so many times that it eventually began to seem possible that she would overcome this too.
The news was greeted with a sense of personal loss, because even those who didn’t know her recognised what she stood for, since the day in 2018 she made her statement on the steps of the High Court and refused to be silenced. Then and now, she embodied both vulnerability and power; the human ability to keep raging against the dying of the light; and anger at a paternalistic health system that was too often a cold and uncaring house for women.
“We are all alone at the end of the day. And it is then that we know who we really are,” she wrote in her 2019 memoir, Overcoming. It was in her darkest moments that she discovered not only who she really was, but that she was not alone. Standing behind her were the members of the 221+ Cervical Check Patient Support group, brought together after her refusal to sign a confidentiality agreement started a movement. Standing behind them were the countless Irish women furious at how their autonomy and healthcare had been relegated in a patriarchal system.
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President Higgins spoke of her sense of commitment to the public good. The love of her family, and the knowledge that she was fighting for others, gave her the strength to keep going far beyond the six months she was given in 2018 -– seeking out treatment in the US and a drug that would offer her precious time. And yet, her life wasn’t all about the fight.
“When your days are numbered, you see the beauty of every day. It’s almost like a second life,” she wrote. Her last year was focused on drinking in that life, with the same ferocious appetite she greeted every challenge.
Her life has now ended, long after what was deemed possible, and still far too soon. She had come to seem unstoppable. Vicky Phelan’s spirit was untameable and her loss is immeasurable.
She famously made clear that she didn’t want tributes after her death – she wanted action and accountability. Her legacy – her fight for better healthcare for women and her desire to cherish every moment – leaves an indelible mark.