I came up with the idea of the ‘Daff Man’ and since then it became somewhat of a symbol for Daffodil day.

“I don’t think there is a person in Ireland who hasn’t been affected by cancer in some way. I, myself, lost my parents, relatives and many of my close friends due to this horrible illness. I always wanted to help and one day, I was walking in the city centre and I saw volunteers selling daffodils for the Irish Cancer Society and I thought I could give a hand. Only a year later I came up with the idea of the ‘Daff Man’ and since then it became somewhat of a symbol for Daffodil day. It was always great fun dressing up but to me, it was much more of an honour than anything else. My husband was a shy man, but he loved me dressing up and going out fundraising. He would come in to meet me on those Fridays for lunch with our friends and, despite his shyness, he would let me walk him to the restaurant in my boiler suit covered in thousands of bright yellow daffodils. He was always very proud of me. We spent 24 beautiful years together and this is going to be the first year I will have to put on the ‘Daff Man’ suit without his support. He died last year. I’ve raised money for the Irish Cancer Society on O’Connell Bridge every year for 25 years now. I never expected anything in return, but the day before my husband got a bed in hospice we got a Night Nurse to our house. She was absolutely fantastic, taking a lot of weight off our shoulders and making sure that our last night together was as comfortable and as pleasant as possible. Only a few months later, when I received a letter asking about our experience with her, I realised that she was one of the Irish Cancer Society Night Nurses and I was just benefiting from one of the many services I had supported over the years… I felt great comfort and fulfilment for all those past years and now I’m looking forward too many more!”