Memorial walk for ‘angel’ Limerick teen who passed away
FAMILY and friends of a 17-year-old Limerick girl who died from cancer are to hold a memorial walk in her honour for charity.
Oscar’s Kids Ireland, which supported Ailish Cowhey before she passed away in April, is the chosen charity for the upcoming Ailish Angels Memorial Walk.
Ailish, from Caherdavin in the city, was only 17 when she died from brain cancer.
Battling the debilitating disease for 18 months, she was a member of Oscar’s Kids Ireland, which supported her through her illness.
“It was a complete shock to the family, because Ailish had no symptoms up to the night of her seizure,” said her sister, Annie.
“Anyone who knew Ailish, knew she was a proud Oscar’s Kids member and those magic moments kept her going.”
Oscar’s Kids Ireland is a national children’s charity which provides services to children who have a terminal illness.
They give children treats and day trips, such as ice cream vouchers and little gifts and, in the case of Ailish, an afternoon tea in Adare Manor with her family.
Ashleigh Cowhey, Ailish’s niece and best friend, says she hopes the walk will be special. “We are all going to wear pink for the walk on October 23. It was Ailish’s favourite colour - we all wore it to her funeral, too.
“We did ballet together for years. Ailish loved her fashion and beauty and more recently, loved buying designer brands,” said Ashleigh, who is nine months older than Ailish.
“We went to playschool, primary school in Caherdavin Girls school and secondary school together, to the Crescent College Comprehensive. We did most things as a pair,” Ashleigh said, adding that the pair couldn’t understand why others thought it was “weird” that she was older than her aunt.
Having teamed up with their former school Crescent College Comprehensive, Ashleigh came up with the idea to hold a memorial walk in aid of Oscar’s Kids.
On October 23, sixth years from the school will team up by wearing pink and walking to remember Ailish.
“She was very kind and would always put you first.
“She loved Home Economics, and wanted to do Early Childhood Education after school. We would have been doing our Leaving Cert together.”
A special Instagram page has been set up in honour of Ailish and to notify people about the walk which is taking place later this month.
As well as this, more than €10,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe page for the international paediatric cancer charity, Oscar’s Kids.