The family of a frontline worker who died due to Covid-19 has described her as a caring mother and a loveable person.
Catherine Hickey, 51, worked on the household staff at St Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny for five years.
Her daughter Mechaela said she "was a really caring mother, very loveable, bubbly, always somebody to talk to whether it be family or friends, she was always there".
Catherine died last month in the hospital where she worked, less than a fortnight after testing positive for Covid-19.
She was one of two staff members at St Luke's who had the coronavirus to die within two days, highlighting the risks faced by healthcare workers.
As of yesterday, there were 6,393 cases of Covid-19 associated with healthcare workers in Ireland.
"She just loved it," Mechaela said about her mother's job.
"In her way she was looking at that as helping people and cleaning. She worked in oncology so she knew that was especially important to keep [things] clean, so they're not contracting any viruses or anything like that, so I think that's what she loved about the job, helping people.
"She knew about the risks. She wanted to keep going, she wanted to continue to do her job because at the end of the day someone was going to have to do the job and that was going to be her."
When Catherine became ill initially, she was vomiting and had body aches but as the days went on she got worse, with headaches also a symptom.
She was tested on a Thursday and confirmed as positive for Covid-19 the following day.
"We kind of knew, but it was still a shock, just because you hear so many stories of what it can do. But we just thought it will pass, she'll be sick for a couple of days, she'll rest up and she'll be fine. We didn't think too much more of it after she isolated in her bedroom, but it just continued to get worse as the time went on," Mechaela said.
Catherine was admitted to hospital the Wednesday after she was diagnosed and by Friday was on a ventilator.
The family were advised to speak to her on Facetime, which they did.
"She was fine, she was very calm. I was the one crying and she was asking me why I was crying. She just told us to look after ourselves, and my brother's fiancee's baby is due in September and she was just telling us to look after the baby.
"She was just so calm and I think she knew herself that her body wasn't able to keep going. It was in too much distress."
Catherine Hickey died on Wednesday 15 April.
"We turned off the ventilator. Myself, my brother and my Dad were there in the room with her...me and my Dad got to hold her hand as she passed, obviously with the gloves on, but we still got to hold her hand and be there with her as she passed away. She went very peacefully," Mechaela said.
The family, including husband Joe and son Christopher, along with Catherine's mother Josie (she is predeceased by her father Paddy) and brothers Sean, Pat and Declan and sister Nora were "overwhelmed" by the support in the following days, with tributes paid by her friends and colleagues at St Luke's, as well as many in the wider public.
"I can’t thank people enough," said Mechaela.
Since then they have been trying to cope with the loss of their mother.
But amid the sadness, there are many happy memories.
At work, Catherine loved to relax during her break with a bun and cup of tea and "she would come home and tell us she hadn’t had anything and she'd be in the hospital eating buns and we wouldn't know about it".
And at home: "Dancing around the kitchen with the sweeping brush and trying to get us to dance with her and we were just, 'no we’re going to bed'. And just the warm personality, the real hearty laugh that she had, the warm hugs, and just my best friend being there, somebody to talk to."
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