Vicky Phelan to lead Kilkenny’s St Patrick’s Day parade as Grand Marshall

Cervical cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan has been announced as the Grand Marshall for this year's St Patrick's Day parade in her native Kilkenny.

Vicky, who was recently named Kilkenny Person of the Year, will lead the parade through the city on March 17th. She rose to prominence last year as one of hundreds of Irish women whose smear tests were misdiagnosed under the HSE's Cervical Check scheme. Vicky, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, has become a leading voice in the campaign for answers for these women and has also pushed for better care for those suffering. "Cancer has hit most of our families in some way but the trauma experienced by Vicky and the hundreds of others so cruelly misdiagnosed has shocked the nation," chairperson of the Kilkenny St Patrick's Day Committee councillor Joe Malone told The Kilkenny People.

"Vicky has been the leading light in this campaign and has inspired so many by her articulate, clear and positive leadership. "She is not afraid to call out the powers that be on their failings but is also a beacon of positive hope for so many, even in the toughest of times. "We look forward to the people of the city and county giving her a huge black and amber round of applause and appreciation as she travels through the city at the head of our parade."

Vicky has received a number of honours for her campaigning, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick and being named as one of the 100 most inspiring women in the world by the BBC.