Best friends will remember late Limerick woman at marathon

A LIMERICK woman who died from ovarian cancer four years ago will be remembered in Dingle this weekend.

Eimear Dinneen-Bourke says her sister Sinéad Dinneen, who passed in 2019 at just 47, was “always full of life and divilment”.

Sinéad, who grew up in Murroe, was diagnosed in 2013 and Eimear, along with best friend Máire Lilley, will be running the Dingle Marathon on September 2 as a tribute to Sinead.

The aim of the event is to raise awareness for ovarian cancer, celebrate Sinéad and to raise money for OvaCare which supports those diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Remembering her sister, Eimear said: “Sinéad loved the sea, so Dingle is a wonderful location for us to do this. We know, in Dingle, it is also very hilly and one of the hardest marathons you can do. We saw Sinéad’s strength over those six years and she powered on through everything and we want to go and power on for her.”

Sinéad was one of six children including sisters Eimear, Niamh and Orla and brothers Mark and Conor.

The family grew up in Murroe and it is a place of love for more reasons than one.

Eimear attended Doon Secondary School where she met best friend Máire who is also from Murroe.

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After leaving school, Eimear ended up meeting her now husband, James, in a pub in the village only to later find out that it was her best friend’s brother she was dating.

“Eimear and my brother James started dating a few years after we left school. I remember warning my big brother not to mess things up with Eimear because she was my friend first,” Máire said.

“I am happy he didn’t because they got married in 2016 and now I have a wonderful sister-in-law and two beautiful nieces.

“Ellie is nine and Rosa is four and I also have a nephew I adore, Jacob who is seven.”

Eimear says it was a difficult time following her sister's diagnoses. “It was really difficult knowing that she was so sick but she always put the positive on it, she set us all up for her exiting the world. She made us really strong, just like her, so we could carry on.”

Máire added: “Sinéad was loving, artistic, musical, kind, creative and so much more. She was a powerful woman in so many ways. She was so well known in many circles around Limerick.”

One of those circles was GAA - she created a knicker campaign when Limerick won their first All-Ireland in 45 years in 2018.

They were classed as ‘lucky knickers’ and they were put up in Irish estates across the county when Limerick played.

Eimear laughed: “She sewed those by hand with Limerick on them and they lived in Irish estates and it was everytime Limerick would play they went up.”

You can find Eimear and Máire’s fundraiser through their JustGiving webpage.