Special appeal to Offaly people to help little Fiadh fight cancer

AN Offaly woman and her family have raised over €300,000 in a bid to bring their daughter to the United States for cancer treatment.

Anne Marie Dempsey, Geashill, who is a second cousin of Offaly senior footballer David Dempsey, first noticed that her daughter Fiadh Ronan was unwell when she was still in pre-school.

A post on the GoFundMe platform explains how parents Anne Marie and Frank Ronan, who is from Kerry where the couple live, first became aware of little Fiadh's illness.

“In October 2023, Fiadh was a happy inquisitive little girl, who loved going to pre-school and playing with her younger brother Barra. Fiadh’s appetite in the previous few weeks had dipped and her energy levels were nowhere near what they used be. When Fiadh got a pain in her abdomen her parents knew something was not right.”

Frank Ronan is from Lixnaw, Co Kerry and the couple live in Abberdorney.

“Fiadh went to her local A&E in Tralee and was admitted. Shortly after an ultrasound was conducted Fiadh was transferred via ambulance to Crumlin’s Children’s Hospital for further scans and tests. It was there that her parents heard her diagnosis and the word cancer, a word no parent should ever have to hear. Fiadh was diagnosed with Stage 4 High risk Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. The severity of her diagnosis meant that she would endure 18 months of high intensity treatment which started immediately.”

After 17 months of intensive treatment, Fiadh, now five years of age, has gone through chemotherapy, surgery to remove the primary tumour, a stem cell transplant, and radiotherapy.

She has been treated in Crumlin children's hospital. “She is now in the final phase of her treatment-immunotherapy. Despite the challenges and exhaustion, Fiadh has maintained a positive attitude throughout. Although her energy was often low, she found comfort in simple joys like playing with her dolls and making jewellery, learning with her teacher in Crumlin, arts and crafts, reading stories with her parents, and FaceTiming with her brother. These moments kept her strong and connected as she navigated this difficult journey.”

In May of last year the Ronans welcomed their newest addition to the family, baby sister Aoibhin, an arrival which gave Fiadh a renewed sense of purpose and lifted her spirits.

The family hope that Fiadh's current immunotherapy treatment will be the final stage of her frontline care.

They said: “Fiadh will then have her final set of scans and we hope and pray that they will show no evidence of disease. The next stage is to do everything we possibly can to prevent Fiadh’s cancer coming back after her treatment ends in Crumlin. Devastatingly, high-risk neuroblastoma has a very high relapse rate, and limited treatment options if relapse occurs. This makes the long term survival rate unthinkable.”

There are maintenance therapies which aim to prevent the disease from returning but they are only available in clinical trials in the US, hence the GoFundMe appeal (log onto gofundme.com and search for Together for Fiadh).

“These trials are extremely costly, which is why we urgently need your support,” said Fiadh's parents.

The target is €400,000. If any excess money is raised, it will be donated to three charities which do “incredible” work fighting children's cancer, Aoibheann's Pink Tie, Barretstown and Neuroblastoma UK.

Anne Marie Dempsey has very strong Offaly connections. Brothers David and Matt Dempsey, who both play football for Ballycommon, are her second cousins, as is Sinead Moore, who is on the Offaly camogie panel.

Her uncle is Niall Dempsey who plays for Raheen and her aunt is Fiona Dempsey who was vice captain of the Offaly ladies team last year.

Her other aunt Aoife Dempsey is engaged to another well known GAA name, Eoin Carroll. Anne Marie is also a second cousin of the Dublin senior hurler Donncha Ryan.