MY BUCKET LIST
1. Renewing my wedding vows
‘I DeCIDeD to ask PJ if he’d marry me again. I used the cancer card. He said once was enough, but he agreed. I wanted the fairytale. We renewed our vows in Ballyseedy Castle in Tralee in June 2015. All our family and friends were there.
‘The rule was, no tears. . . only fun, laughter and love.’
Anne’s dream was made possible by the help of generous strangers after she spoke to Neil Prendeville on Cork’s Red FM after her diagnosis.
People donated a cake, photography, flowers and even the wedding planning – and 70 family and friends attended the ceremony.
‘With all of the build-up I was afraid something would have happened, that I would have got sick or wouldn’t have been able to make it.
‘even going up the aisle the nerves were so bad – and the aches and the pains – that I was saying to myself: “Don’t tell me now that I’ll have to end up going to the doctor”.
‘But in the end, it was phenomenal, my dream come true.’
2. My Waterloo
‘If you’re ever feeling down, you just have to turn on a bit of Abba. As part of my list, we said we’d have an Abba-themed night at one of my friend’s houses. It soon got out of hand though, as over 70 wanted to come. ‘My friend, Corina at Geary’s pub in Charleville, took it over and made a marvellous night in the bar. She had the Abba band come down from Dublin and, in the end, hundreds came. ‘Although I forget the words, and there’s cancer on my lungs, I still managed to belt out Dancing Queen. We made it a night to remember. We raised €2,510 and I’d love to do it again this year. Everyone felt young and alive again. Women going through treatment for cancer forgot all about it for one night.’
3. Learning to drive ... and fly!
‘I’ve always wanted to take a driving lesson and I finally have now. Let’s just say it was an experience. The idea was that I’d do a driving lesson and a flying lesson, but the lovely instructor – Martin Hennessy of local firm, U Drive – said I’d achieved both in the one day. ‘He said I bombed it up the Cork Road – it was like flying! I got in the car and Martin asked me if I knew which pedals were which. I said: “That’s the brake and that’s the accelerator.” “No,” he said, “They’re the other way around.” It was a bad start and I got them mixed up a few times when I was driving!’
4. A duet with Tommy Fleming
ThE audience on RTÉ’s Saturday Night With Miriam was moved to tears when Anne took to the stage with Tommy fleming to sing the Joni Mitchell classic, Both Sides Now.
Anne says Miriam O’Callaghan had listened to her interview with Joe Duffy, bottom left, and invited her on.
Before she sang, she said: ‘The lyrics mean a lot to me. I allow myself once a week to have a down time and I cry, and I need this song to help me cry because the lyrics are so personal to me.’
Now she remembers it as one of the best nights of her life.
‘The singing was crucial to my bucket list. Tommy is such a star. he made me feel wonderful. You couldn’t meet a better, more genuine person.’