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LAST UPDATE | 22 Jul 2020
CERVICAL CHECK CAMPAIGNER Ruth Morrissey was a “beautiful soul” who showed great resilience and strength in her final years, her funeral has heard.
Ruth, who died on Sunday aged 39, was among hundreds of women affected by the controversy around incorrect smear test results.
Close friends and family gathered at Mary Magdalene Church in Monaleen, Co Limerick, for her funeral mass.
The mother-of-one’s death comes two years after her €2.1 million High Court win against the Health Service Executive (HSE) and two laboratories over the misreading of two cervical smear tests.
Delivering a personal tribute at the service, Ruth’s husband Paul said his wife was “stunningly beautiful, caring and wise”.
He added: “I met Ruth Maloney when she was 17 and I was 19. From that moment on, it was just the two of us – a team.
“Ruth was my girlfriend but she was also my best friend. We did everything together and it helped that we were both Man United supporters.
It is no secret that in our relationship, Ruth was the boss. I was quite simply happy with the arrangement – it suited me. I knew she was right.
“Not only was Ruth stunningly beautiful with a smile that would light up any room that she walked into, she was so loving and caring and well able to give sound advice, whether you wanted to hear it at the time or not.
“She was wise beyond her years – so witty, great fun and people were drawn to her. I don’t know how I got so lucky when she agreed to come my way.”
Paul Morrissey became emotional as he spoke about his daughter Libby.
He said: “In 2011, we became a trio when our amazing daughter Libby was born. Ruth was a natural mother, she adored Libby and Libby made Ruth so proud and happy.
“Everything we did was as a family and spending time together was so important to Ruth.
Libby has inherited so many of Ruth’s qualities. She made a card for her mother on Saturday and signed it ‘mini Ruth’ – I think that says it all.
“I always knew Ruth was a strong person but the resilience and bravery she showed every day, whether having treatment, going through the court case or dealing with the pain, never ceased to amaze me.
“She carried it all with great dignity and still managed to keep her sense of humour and appreciate the simple things in life.”
He broke down as he added: “Me and Libby are truly heartbroken and devastated. I don’t think we will ever recover from losing Ruth.”
A bag of jelly sweets to represent her sweet tooth, a butterfly and a jar of face cream were among the symbols brought up to the altar.
Fr Noel Kirwan also paid tribute to Ruth.
He said: “There is a day ahead when God will bring us all together because that is what the resurrection is, a promise of eternal life together.
“May her beautiful soul guide us. May her beautiful soul give us strength, may her beautiful soul lead us on to that day of reunion and may she rest in peace now – her journey over and her battle ended but her life eternal.
“The final thought I will leave you with… even though she was part of a big family, it was said she could have been an only child.
From the very beginning, she was content within herself and joyful within herself, but it was because she was cocooned in love. She was cocooned in love and so she was at home in her life.
A large crowd gathered outside the church as the coffin was taken to a private burial.
The song Roar by Katy Perry was played as Ruth’s coffin left the church and her daughter Libby carried a single yellow rose.
CervicalCheck campaigners Vicky Phelan and Lorraine Walsh and leader of the Labour Party, Alan Kelly, were among the mourners.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and President Michael D Higgins were represented by their aide-de-camps.
HSE apology
Meanwhile, HSE CEO Paul Reid paid tribute to Ruth as an “incredibly courageous woman” and offered his sympathies to her family.
Reid said he has written to her husband to express the HSE’s deepest sympathies and apology for what happened to her.
A minute’s silence was held in the Dáil yesterday in Ruth’s honour.
Micheál Martin said the government acknowledged the failures of CervicalCheck and was profoundly sorry about what had been allowed to happen.
He added: “Those of us who were here and have the responsibility of elected office have a solemn duty to learn the lessons from these errors, to reform the system and to make sure they never happen again.”
He said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is in the process of appointing a new judge to the CervicalCheck tribunal.
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Cool article. The Brits are hilarious.
@Lisa Saputo: and they make your corps wait wks till burial . We just prefer a 3 day bender
Another tradition is one hundred years old this week, the tradition of Irish Republicans refusing to swear allegiance to the British queen and refusing to take their seats. Surely it’s time FG and FF put their money where their mouth is, run candidates in the north and take their seats in Westminster? Surely if they believe SF should take their seats then they would do the same? Surely they would win seats in the north after all they’ve done for Northern Nationalists? Surely!!
@European Bob: that tradition is not 100 years old. The tradition died out in 1921 when Ireland got its independence, but was started again in the 70s by a splinter faction of the Workers Party calling itself Sinn Fein.
@European Bob: calm down Shirley.
@European Bob: surely you can’t be serious?!
@Big Red: Actually the Workers Party came from Sinn Fein not the other way.
Sinn Fein split into Provisional and Official, the Officials became “Sinn Fein the workers party” then just “The workers Party” from which Democratic Left split, who then merged with (took over) Labour. I think The Workers Party is still around, but I believe that Thomas McGiolla was the last to be elected to any major position.
@European Bob: slight lack of understanding what a republic is, there Bob. A office holder of a republic cannot swear alligeance to any royal of any origin or to any other power that does not eminate for the people of that republic. FF, FG or anyone considering that would have to form an external party, taking note that any crossing of the party whip (over serving office holders) would be illegal and treasonous to that republic. I dont know, but I suspect it’s similar for the house of commons over there.
@Greg Blake: I’d imagine taking up the oath in the UK, would negate any right of SF MPs to direct or influence the voting of any SF TDs.
@Big Red: You might want to recheck your facts there. They are a little bit on the alternative side.
@Big Red: Note to Red, Ireland didn’t get its independence in 1921. 6 counties still occupied.
@European Bob: its a pity it can’t just become another British parliament tradition, where they symbolically deny sinn fein mps entry a few times, and then just let them take their seats…
@Big Red: partial independence
Maintaining all the fuss and feathers of empire is the root cause of the British sense of self importance.
@Kevin Barry: like wearing a shamrock to commemorate a 1,500 year dead kidnap victim Welsh “saint” who drove the non-existent snakes out of Ireland?
@Robin Pickering: you have us on that one. ;-), All countries have their quaint customs, it’s what makes the world interesting. As long as they are harmless, then let them at it.
@Greg Blake: true. Life would be boring if we were all the same.
A total bunch of clowns the lot of them
@Ciarān: word
@Ciarān: Why are they a bunch of clowns?
@jo mixon: Do i need to explain or have you not been following the news for the the last 2 years?!
I knew a village bycicle who loved the black rod
“Right honourable” means a member of the privy council. Nothing to do with ministerial office
@Dave Ringer: that’s correct. Jeffrey Donaldson from the DUP gets referred to as “the right honourable” just because he is on the queen’s privy council. He is not a minister.
I find this very offensive to Blacks & Rods
MPs are traditionally called ‘honourable’, or ‘hon’ for short. They aren’t referred to by name by other members, but by the constituency they represent. The Speaker calls them by name.
A ‘friend’ is an MP in the same party; referring to others, they are just a ‘member’.
‘Right hon’ means the member is a member of the Privy Council; the get the letters PC after their name.
‘Hon and learned’ means the member is a QC, the equivalent of a SC.
‘Hon and gallant’ means the member is a Sir, a knight.
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