An Irishman is set to run the Dublin Marathon in memory of his beloved mum who died of cancer last year.
Shaun Boyle, 26, will be making the 26.2-mile journey alongside his partner, Sophie Twomey, to raise money for Irish Cancer Society. Donegal man, Shaun, said he's determined to honour his mum, Grace, who died within days of being diagnosed with cancer the second time.
He told Dublin Live: "The essence of my mum's character would have been helping others and being extremely selfless. I want to emulate her standards and at least try and be a fraction of the person she was."
Read more: 'My mum died just a few weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumour'
Shaun fondly remembered his strong and determined mum who had the "strength, resilience, and ability to keep going when things were tough without ever complaining".
He said: "She was the kindest and the most sincere and selfless person you’d have ever met. I think she would do anything for anyone."
Grace was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Shaun said: "She went into remission and everything was great until September 2021, she started feeling unwell.
"She was in hospital for a couple of weeks. They didn’t really know what was wrong with her."
Much to everyone's horror, the doctors found that the cancer, which lay dormant for years, had spread to her liver. Shaun said: "By the time they found out that she had very little time left. She found out on Friday that it was terminal and she passed away on Monday.
"It was a lot to process in a very short period of time. She was in a fair bit of pain at the time so we didn’t want her to suffer for too long. She was given great care and she passed away peacefully."
Shaun has never run a marathon before but is determined to take up the challenge for a good cause. He will be running with Sophie on October 30 to raise vital funds for Irish Cancer Society.
He said: "Sophie has been my rock through everything. It’ll be great for us to do it together. Mum was very fond of her."
You can donate to Shaun's fundraiser here
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