Offaly artist says Vicky Phelan wants ashes scattered on beach

CAMPAIGNER Vicky Phelan told Offaly artist Vincent Devine she wants her ashes to be scattered on the beach where she posed for an iconic portrait which raised €46,000 for charity.

The Clara-born painter became very close to Ms Phelan when he worked with her on the painting which was unveiled on The Late Late Show and has gone on tour as part of a cancer awareness campaign.

Mr Devine said on Tuesday he was still processing news of Vicky Phelan's death after hearing it at 9.30am on Monday.

“We knew it was coming but nothing really prepares you for it. I'd have classed Vicky as a friend. I'd have been keeping in touch with Vicky about what was going on. We were all aware this day was coming eventually,” said the painter.

His portrait of the health campaigner depicts her sitting on a chair on a beach and before painting it, he spent time with Ms Phelan at Doughmore beach in Doonbeg, Co Clare.

She told the artist that was her favourite beach: “That's why she picked that beach and that's where she wants her ashes scattered.”

Mr Devine added: “It's been a very, very hard few days because I knew her so intimately and so well. A small part of me is gone and it's sad. It's sad that her kids are left without their mother.

“In ways we all thought that she was invincible. When I saw her in May she was looking well. She always kept coming back, bouncing back.

“She'll never be gone because she'll be for ever there in paint.”

He recalled how she wanted the portrait to convey her personal message about cervical cancer and women's health and she hoped any money raised from its sale would go to charity.

The money was donated to Heroes Aid, which supports frontline health service workers battling Covid-19.

The artist said Ms Phelan liked his work and trusted him and they collaborated well during the painting process, which involved hours of sitting and speaking together.

After its purchase the painting was released by the Brennans for many public events and has been seen by students at colleges in Waterford, Carlow, UCD and other places.

Mr Devine has spoken at those cervical cancer awareness talks and he said he always hoped he was living up to her wishes when he was giving presentations about women's health.

“It's important that people start using the right language and when language fails a picture speaks a thousand words,” he said.

“I wanted to make sure she was happy with how I was presenting her voice,” he added.

“I said to her I'm standing up there talking about vaginas and women's gynaecological parts and I said to her 'Why me?' and she said it was because she was used to older men sitting with her in a white room with white clothes telling her and women what to do and she said to me, 'You're here as a 36-year-old man, saying to women, get your smears, get checked and get ahead of a bad diagnosis'.”

Ms Phelan became a household name after her 2018 High Court action brought the CervicalCheck controversy to public notice.

She had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 after undergoing a smear test three years earlier which showed no abnormalities.

An audit of CervicalCheck found that the original smear test result was incorrect.

Ms Phelan passed away at Milford Hospice in Limerick in the early hours of Monday morning.