When Ann O’Neill was a young girl growing up near sweet Youghal Bay, she always wanted to do two things.
“I always wanted to be a nurse, and I wanted to look after my mother when the time came that she needed me,” says Ann.
This mother of three and breast cancer survivor realised both ambitions.
“It was a pleasure to look after my mother when she became ill,” says Ann, who works in Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London.
“There are nine of us siblings, so I was one of the team that looked after mammy.”
Oh, and there is another string to her bow, isn’t there?
Ann’s laugh echoes down the phone as she confirms that, yes, she has just completed her 79th marathon in New York in November.
“It’s funny when I was approached by a New York influencer for my comments after the race; the interview went viral. It was mad!
“I heard from people that I hadn’t heard from in years,” says Ann.
“I realised just how much satisfaction and friendship running marathons has given me over the years,” adds Ann, 58, who began running with her friend Val 20 years ago.
“I am known as Ireland’s marathon mum!” she says.
And she is aiming to rack up her 100th marathon.
“That’s the plan,” says Ann, who is already looking towards running her 80th marathon in Japan in 2026.
Growing up, Ann had to be patient as she set out to achieve her aims.
“When I was going to school in Loretto in Youghal, I always knew that I wanted to be a nurse.”
While getting married and having a family, Ann put her ambition on hold.
“Back in the early ’80s and during a time of recession in Ireland, very few people went to college,” she says.
Cork nurse Ann O’Neill is now based in London.
“My youngest son Daniel was born with a very rare medical condition, and it was when he started secondary school that I enrolled in a healthcare course, Fetac level 5, which allowed me possible entry to UCC.
“I was out running with my friend Ali, who went back to college as a mature student to study medicine. I said to her, ‘will I apply for nursing?’ I think if I hadn’t said it to Ali, I might have talked myself out of it!”
Ann talked the talk, and she walked the walk on track towards her dream job.
“I loved the nursing course, Children’s and General,” says Ann. “I passed my first- year exams and I was so delighted.”
Then she was stopped in her tracks by cancer.
“I’ll never forget I was in my last few weeks of university, February/March, 2018, before I went into work placement,” says Ann. “Because I had turned 50 the previous year, I was called for a free breast screening in CUH.”
Then she was called back.
“I put the letter from the hospital down and went into bed,” says Ann. “I tried not to worry.”
It didn’t work.
“I got up at 3am and read the letter again. I needed to have a mammogram because they were ‘not sure’. When I had the mammogram and then a biopsy, I just knew that they knew.”
At the same time, her family were dealing with tragedy.
“My brother had passed away six weeks previously,” says Ann. “That was so sad. I wondered how was I going to tell mammy I had breast cancer.”
How was she going to finish her nursing course and qualify as a Children’s and General nurse?
She was so near the finish line, and yet so far.
“My whole thing was all about the nursing,” says Ann. “I really needed to qualify. I really wanted to start my internship. I thought maybe I could have surgery, then find a window to do my internship, and have treatment for my cancer at the same time. Post-surgery, I asked for a letter from my consultant to allow me to go back nursing.”
It wasn’t to be.
“The doctors were not happy with my margins,” says Ann. “The cancer had spread into my lymph nodes. I was due to start my internship the next day. It took all night for me to realise that it wasn’t going to happen. I had to defer my internship.”
Her cancer treatment was underway.
“I had a second surgery and further radiotherapy,” says Ann.
The dedicated student nurse went through the mill, adding: “It was pretty nasty.”
Then she joined her tribe when she graduated in 2020.
“The following year, a group of nurses began their internship and I joined them,” says Ann “I worked in CUH and then in the Bon Secours for a few years. It was great.”
The world was at her feet.
“I was offered a place in Great Ormond Street. In my head, that is where I wanted to be,” says Ann, now a qualified Children’s and General nurse.
“Because I loved my hospital work back home in Cork, I took a year’s leave of absence in case things didn’t work out in London.”
But they did. Today, Ann and her three children, Garry, Daniel, and Niamh live in the UK capital where Ann works.
“Working in Children’s nursing can be intense,” admits Ann. “And I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
And when the going gets tough, she can always go for a run in the park, can’t she?
“Running has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” she says. “My real drive for marathons started 20 years ago when I met Valerie Fogarty from Mitchelstown.
“We were on the treadmill at the gym and Val was actually training for the New York Marathon. She saw me running and told me I definitely had what I takes, and I just went from there.”
Ann went from being a dedicated daughter, a dedicated mother and a dedicated nurse to a TikTok celebrity described as a ‘legend’ for aspiring runners and cancer survivors.
“I still can’t get over it,” she says.
“Running and marathons have been a huge part of my life. I’ve met some amazing people, heard some amazing stories, travelled all over the world, and had the best fun.”
Ann always kept going when the going got tough.
“During tough times, getting out there and feeling the air, being in nature can make a big difference.”
