Historic night as Freedom of Limerick to be awarded to Vicky Phelan

IT will be an historic night this Thursday, as the Freedom of Limerick is conferred for the first time in almost four years.

Cervical Check cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan will become only the fifth woman to receive the highest civic honour – and the first in 25 years, with Trudy Hunt being the last in 1997.

The ceremony takes place on Thursday evening at the council’s headquarters in Dooradoyle. Numbers will continue to be restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the event will be streamed live online by Limerick City and County Council.

Vicky Phelan 'Freedom of Limerick' ceremony to be live-streamed by council

Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Ms Phelan said she is “absolutely honoured and delighted” to accept the honour.

It was back in 2014 that the mum-of-two was first diagnosed with cancer. Since it returned, she has used her formidable determination to challenge and question the medical service provided both to her and other women.

In 2011, she had taken part in the national cervical screening programme, with her test results wrongly reported as normal, a fact withheld from her.

Only two years later, she developed cancer, with her experience serving as the catalyst for the establishment of a redress scheme to financially compensate women with cervical cancer.