Woman who died after Cork City Marathon made people feel special, father tells mourners

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

The young woman who died after running the Cork City Marathon at the weekend didn't lead with her elbows, but with open arms, her heartbroken father said.
'That made her stand out, that made her special and made everyone that came into contact with her feel special,' Ellen Cassidy's father, Tom, told mourners at her 'goodbye mass' in Blackpool on Thursday.
'The result of this approach to life was what we had last night - a nine-hour wake, a full church today. Honestly, we never expected what we have seen and experienced over the last 48 hours, but it's the result of putting others first.'
An elite swimmer, Ellen, 24, from the Old Mallow Road, Cork, fell ill close to the half marathon finish line on St Patrick's Street on Sunday. She got immediate medical attention but was pronounced dead at Cork University Hospital later.
As requested by her family, people came to her funeral mass in The Church of the Annunciation, Blackpool, on Thursday wearing colourful outfits, many clutching freshly cut sunflowers, roses, and carnations, to celebrate her life and say goodbye.
Mourners were led by her devastated parents, Violet and Tom, her sister, Mary, her brother, Charlie, her boyfriend, Rob, her grandparents, Joan, Billy and Tom, her extended family and a wide circle of friends.
Among the gifts brought to the altar symbolising her passions in life were her Milan marathon medal, her Irish swim caps, sheets of piano music, a seashell representing her love of Alvor, the sea, and travel, and a heart symbol representing her love for her friends.
Ellen Cassidy had a love for music, piano, and especially swimming.
In a moving eulogy, Mr Cassidy told mourners about her journey from Rathpeacon NS, through St Angela's College, Bruce College, UCD and then the switch to UCC during covid to study business information systems, and of her love for music, piano, but especially swimming.
Ellen joined Dolphin Swimming Club in Mayfield aged nine, breaking several club records in her time there, and represented Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in 2015. She was part of the Mardyke Arena UCC's Emerging Talent Programme in 2018, and debuted that year at the European Junior Championships in the 200m backstroke in Helsinki.
She was joint chairperson of the UCC Swimming Club and the organisation of the Inter Varsities Swimming Championship in Cork in 2024. She began working with PwC in cybersecurity last September.
Mr Cassidy revealed how his wife found their daughter's diary on Tuesday in a place they would never think to look.
'It was as if she wanted us to find it after she passed away,' he said, before reading the entry from March 11, 2021 – Ellen's 20th birthday.
The guard of honour by local running and swimming clubs after the funeral mass for Ellen Cassidy today. Picture: Larry Cummins
'Ramen, honestly, what more would you want? Chicken wings to die for, they will be gotten again, most definitely, whereas the Prosecco on the other hand, easy to drink, but by God I felt ill this morning," she wrote.
'Not ideal with my assignment due next week, which of course I still haven't started. I need to actually realise I am now 20. F**k, 20-years old now. No-one is going to do things for me anymore.
'I need to focus on myself, my body, my mind, my mental health, my physical health. It all needs to be looked after by me now. I'm not a child anymore. I have to stop acting as it everyone else is going to do it for me. They're not.
'Ellen it's all you, step up, be brave. If you fail, you fail. But step out of your comfort zone. Don't follow the crowd. I know it's easier said than done, but you will never know the person you could be if you don't try and step up.
'In the next 10 years, you'll be finished college. Working, maybe. In a relationship? Travelling? Swimming? Buying a house? Driving a car? You will never know what life will throw at you but you must embrace it.
'Make choices, make decisions, and don't look back. Follow your gut. Otherwise you will never learn. You won't grow into the person you were meant to be. Small things make a huge difference. All I want is for everything to be perfect. My family. That is what I want.
'But can it be? We need to try harder. No-one will love, accept or support you more than your mother, father, brother and sister.
'I am lucky. I am so lucky to have them. We are lucky to have each other. We need to realise that. I just want mum, dad, Charlie, Mary, and myself to be happy.'
A mourner holding flowers in the guard of honour for Ellen Cassidy by local running and swimming clubs. Picture: Larry Cummins
Mr Cassidy recalled too how on the day before she died, Ellen sent her mother a message saying she would choose her to be her mum in every lifetime, again and again and again, before he pleaded directly to Ellen's friends to call to their home in the difficult months ahead.
'We don't want this to be the end of the road with the friendships Ellen has forged, but rather it be the continuation,' she said.
'Please call in, have a coffee, share your amazing stories, the fun you had with Ellen, to help us through what we know will be a long road to some sort of normality in our lives.'
After Bishop Emeritus John Buckley said final prayers, Ellen's family and friends placed flowers atop her wicker coffin, placed their hands on it gently, and then walked it from the church through a guard of honour outside formed by her long-term swimming club mates.
As the hearse moved away, it passed a long guard of honour formed by dozens of runners from clubs across the city, all wearing their club colours, to the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy for a private ceremony.