‘A gift for friendship’: Dad of Ellen Cassidy tells her funeral Mass she made people feel special

A young woman who died not long after she reached the finish line at the Cork city marathon last weekend had a gift for friendship and was generous with her “attention, energy, love, and affection”, her requiem Mass heard.

Ellen Cassidy, 24, of Carhoo, Old Mallow Road, Co Cork, became ill just after she completed the half marathon last Sunday at about 1pm. She died shortly afterwards in Cork University Hospital.

Ellen worked in cybersecurity for PwC, having achieved a first-class honours degree in business information systems from UCC.

Her father Tom Cassidy told mourners at the Church of the Annunciation in Blackpool yesterday that Ellen acquired pockets of friends wherever she went.

Mr Cassidy said the wake for Ellen in their family home had lasted nine hours, with friends pouring in in large numbers to share their precious memories. He stressed that Ellen “didn’t lead with elbows, she led with open arms”.

He said: “That made her stand out. That made her special. That made everyone who came in contact with her feel special.

“The result of this approach to life is what we had last night with a nine-hour wake. A full church today both inside and outside.

“Honestly, we never expected what we have seen over the last 48 hours. But it is the result of putting others first.”

Mr Cassidy said that he and his wife Vi had found their daughter’s diary in the days after her death. He said Ellen’s diary entry on her 20th birthday summed up her approach to life.

He added: “The entry for March 11, 2021, her 20th birthday, reads, ‘I am not a child any more... step out of your comfort zone. Don’t follow the crowd. You never know the person you could be if you don’t step up. You will never know what life will throw at you but you must embrace it. Make choices and decisions — but don’t look back. Follow your gut. Small things make a huge difference.

“I am so lucky to have them (my family) — we are lucky to have each other.”

Mr Cassidy said that the day before Ellen took part in the Cork city marathon, she sent her mother “the most beautiful message”. It read: ‘I would choose my mum to be my mum in every lifetime again and again and again.’

Mr Cassidy said Ellen “always had a number of plates spinning at any one time”.

He added: “Swimming, for example, swimming 16 hours per week; music four hours per week, attendance and practice; piano was seven hours a week, attendance and practice; school; her university attendance; exams that go with both; and, of course, her friends.”

Mr Cassidy said his daughter achieved so much in the fields of music, sport, academia, and in her personal life. Particularly cherished family memories include the sight of Ellen eating pasta with ketchup or the time she managed to get an H2 in Leaving Certificate accounting, having scored just 9% in the subject in a fifth-year exam.

Mr Cassidy asked friends of his daughter to continue to call to the family home as the family embark on the long and painful road to “some sort of normality”.

He also thanked all those who had assisted Ellen when she became ill as well as family, friends, neighbours, and the wider community for their support over the last few days.

Meanwhile, Canon John O’Donovan noted that Ellen had written in her diary that she wanted her family to be happy. He said with all her achievements in life, her greatest legacy was the love she had for her family and friends.

Offertory gifts included a medal Ellen received when she completed the Milan marathon; swimming hats; sheets of music and her music book; a sea shell representing her favourite place, which was Alvor in Portugal; and a heart symbolising friendship.

Ellen was an accomplished swimmer, who represented Dolphin Swimming Club, UCC, Munster, and Ireland. She was also a pianist, who studied at the Cork School of Music.

Ellen is survived by her parents Vi and Tom; her siblings Mary and Charlie; her boyfriend Rob; her grandparents Joan, Billy, and Tom; her extended family; and her “many, many best friends”.

The song We’ve Got The World Tonight, by Mickey Joe Harte, was sung by a soloist as the coffin was brought from the church to The Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy.

A guard of honour was formed by members of Dolphin Swimming Club. Large numbers of runners from clubs throughout Cork also participated in the tribute to Ms Cassidy. Friends, many of whom wore bright colours, also walked behind the coffin.