A remembrance service for HPV vaccine campaigner Laura Brennan is getting underway in Ennis this lunchtime.
Hundreds have packed into Ennis Cathedral to bid a final farewell to the 26-year-old, who died last week after a battle with cervical cancer.
Laura’s parents Larry and Bernie and brothers Colin, Fergal and Kevin are leading mourners in saying goodbye to her at Ennis Cathedral this afternoon.
At the age of just 24, Laura was diagnosed with cervical cancer Stage 2B, and spent the final years of her life leading a campaign to encourage the uptake of the HPV vaccine to prevent further deaths like hers.
A private burial for family only took place earlier, with this afternoon’s mass a celebration of Laura’s life and the message she worked so hard to get out there.
Symbols of Laura’s life will be brought to the altar, each symbolising a different part of her personality, including a detention slip from her time at St Flannan’s College, a Clare GAA jersey from her playing days and a picture of Laura with her family and friends.
Family friend Father Pat Malone is the chief celebrant this afternoon in a service that sees both the President and Taoiseach represented by their Aide de Camp.
Health Minister Simon Harris is also in attendance.
Laura’s father Larry and her brother Fergal will conclude this afternoon’s remembrance service with their own tributes to her.
And as a large crowd gathers to celebrate and remember Laura Brennan this lunchtime, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has paid tribute to the young Ennis woman.
In the past hour, He has told the Dáil that Laura’s campaigning will save countless lives.
