Wexford's Relay for Life was emotional and inspirational attracting 150 cancer survivors, the largest group to date

Irish Independent

10-07-2025

Founded by the late Gay Murphy who sadly passed away in 2022 this year's event attracted over 150 cancer survivors, the largest group to date who gathered to celebrate their journey.
A little after 9.30pm, as the darkness rolled in, over 4,000 candles laying in white paper bags, lit the pathway. Each one telling a story and cherishing a memory. The four words which embodied what the past ten years were all about are: celebrate, remember, fight back.
The climax of the event was the Candle of Hope Ceremony, two silent laps in which the constant chatter and laughs is momentarily suspended. A lantern which symbolises hope and our own frailty, was first carried by Jean, Saoirse and Aoibhinn Bates before being passed to Global Hero of Hope Annette Healy, who led the final lap.
Annette is celebrating 21 years of survivorship, a powerful message for all, but especially those recently diagnosed with cancer. After being named as a Global Hero of Hope, Annette told South East Radio: 'I'm 20 years cancer-free. I had an amputation. I lost my leg, my hip. Unfortunately, my prosthesis didn't work out for me so I'm in a wheelchair. It's an honour to think that the Relay for Life Wexford thought that much of me to put me forward.'
The first song played from the stage to break the silence was Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, at which point tears were flowing down people's faces and the chatter, fun and craic got going again.
This year there were 38 teams who are the heartbeat of the event. Each have a tent around the pitch and an army of helpers ensuring that there is always a member of the team walking the track every minute of the 24 hours. A fundraising target of €100,000 was set, which unsurprisingly has again been smashed. Every penny going to support a battle which every family across Ireland will have been touched by.
As survivors, family, friends and team members walked hand in hand, a dedicated team of volunteers worked tirelessly throughout day and night to make the event a success. In total there were 170 volunteers involved over four days.
Relay for Life committee member Melrona O'Neill said: 'A special shout-out to the Wexford Volunteer Centre, who support us in so many meaningful ways, from organising workshops to handcraft decorations for our Survivors Tent, to supporting this year's stunning Decade of Hope Tent.
'One of the standout contributions came from the Refugee Volunteer Club, where 40 volunteers came together over three months to create the main decorative pieces for our tents. We also had a giant butterfly installation made up of hundreds of individually crafted butterflies, created by a group of 100 people from a disability workshop.'
Alongside Bride Street folk group who were standout performers and Barbell Health who hosted an early morning fitness class, local artists gave their time to support the event from the stage. One of those was Wexford artist Shane Clancy who performs using the stage name, 'Shancy'.
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Shane's family has also been touched by cancer. 'My mam passed away from cancer and my granny passed away from cancer. So when the opportunity to perform at Relay fell into my lap it felt like the right thing to do', Shane said.
'I know basically everybody there has felt the way I've felt at one point or another. So it was kind of a bonding moment. It was nice that I was able to give people a little bit of entertainment as they went about their walk.
'At Relay, yes there is that sense of looming sadness and grief. But at the end of the day it's a coming together and a celebration of the people who we are remembering.'
Shancy was supported by his friends Matthew Richards on drums, Cian Bates on the base, James Hanley on the guitar and a classmate from college in England Sam Hendra, who was over for the event.
Last year, funds raised from Wexford's relay supported 674 car journeys so 67 patients could be safely transported to and from their appointment, 211 nights of nursing care allowing patients at the end of their lives to be at home with their loved ones, 539 free counselling sessions for those affected by cancer and 409 supportive and comforting conversations through the support line.
Relay for Life is one of the most important fundraising initiatives for the Irish Cancer Society, who are the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland. Since 2021 Ciara Hughes has been the society's Relay for Life Campaign Manager. Reflecting on the success of the Wexford relay, she said, 'Thanks to cancer research, for many people cancer is no longer a death sentence.' Over half of patients are now alive five years after their diagnosis and there are 220,000 cancer survivors in Ireland.
'The Irish Cancer Society receives just 5 per cent of our funding from the Government,' Ciara continued. 'We cannot thank the Relay for Life Wexford committee and all those who support this important event enough.'