Broadcaster Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh spoke to Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio One about her sister, Bríd who died from cervical cancer earlier this year.
Bríd had just turned 42 when she died, earlier this year but she was everyone's baby sister, born when Bláthnaid was twelve years old. Bríd was diagnosed with cervical cancer during lockdown and even though the family knew it was serious, Bláthnaid said Bríd never talked about dying, even until the very end.
Is as Rath Chairn i gContae na Mí í Bláthnaid agus bhí cónaí ar Bhríd sa chontae, gar don bhaile. Duine speisialta a bhí in Bríd, lonraigh sí ón uair go raibh sí ina cailín beag rua, a mhínigh Bláthnaid. Bhí sí gealgháireach agus lán le craic i gcónaí, le spéis mhór i ndaoine agus an spraoi a bhain leis an saol.
Phós Bríd a fear céile Adam agus chaith siad blianta ag taisteal sular shocraigh siad a gcuid páistí féin a bheith aici. Nuair nach raibh ag éirí leo sin a dhéanamh, tosódh ar thastálacha, rud a thug an ailse chun solais.
Bláthnaid talked about Bríd's joie de vivre, her sense of fun and her love for her family, in particular her nieces and nephews, describing her as the 'best aunty ever'.
Gaeilge a labhair muintir Uí Chofaigh lena chéile i gcónaí agus dúirt sí go bhfilleann sí ar an nGaeilge nuair atá sí thíos nó thuas. 'Irish comes back in when you're in bits'. Bláthnaid whose father died many years ago, said whilst devastating, losing a sibling is an entirely different loss, a topic about which we don't hear spoken about enough.
Mhol Bláthnaid do mhná smear tests a fháil agus vaccines HPV a fháil le go mbeadh siad cosanta ón ailse uafásach a bhí ar Bhríd.
Bláthnaid emphasised the importance of getting regular smear tests and HPV vaccines for women to protect them from the terrible cancer Bríd had.
