Charleville woman Anne Herlihy, who has been diagnosed with incurable and inoperable ovarian cancer, ticked off another item on her bucket list last week when she had her first ever driving lesson, and afterwards said that instructor Martin Hennessy of U Drive had joked that she had also accomplished her dream of a flying lesson due to her heavy foot on the accelerator. Speaking to the Vale Star afterwards, Anne said that while the experience of driving a car had been nerve-wracking, she loved the experience of getting behind the wheel for the first time.
Anne was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer in September 2014, when doctors gave her only a few months to live, adding that she might make it through Christmas. Two years later she’s still fighting the good fight, and still smiling through it all, despite being on constant chemotherapy treatment. Anne has hit the headlines recently, first stopping the nation in its tracks with a memorable interview on Joe Duffy’s ‘Liveline,’ and then achieving one of her dreams when she got the chance to sing ‘Both Sides Now’ with Tommy Fleming on RTE’s ‘Saturday Night With Miriam.’
Anne and PJ, her husband of 32 years, renewed their vows at Ballyseedy Castle in Tralee recently, surrounded by their friends and family, and she had only one condition for people attending: there was to be no crying, and it had to be a day of love, laughter and fun. Next up, Anne wants to take a flying lesson, though she says a simulator will do, even though she was offered a go on a real plane. She also wants to have a family photo taken with her loved ones.
Anne jetted off to Benalmadena this week for a holiday in the sun, and said she was really looking forward to the trip. Her enthusiasm, despite a dire diagnosis, has been an inspiration to many people, and she says she has received letters and cards from peope all over Ireland who say she has been an inspiration to them. As she says herself, “I’m not the type to sit back,” adding that “I’m enjoying myself more now than I ever did.” She added with a laugh that her husband was half afraid of what plan she was going to come up with next!