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The Documentary Podcast

Vicky Phelan: The Woman who Changed Ireland

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.32.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2018

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is the story of Vicky Phelan, a mother of two from Limerick, Ireland. Vicky has cancer of the cervix and in 2017 she was given just six months to live. As she battled to save her own life, Vicky uncovered a scandal that rocked the Irish establishment and exposed a country still coming to grips with radical social upheaval. As part of the BBC's 100 Women season, Helen Devlin meets the woman who changed Ireland.

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to me Helen Devlin and this is the BBC World Service.

0:05.0

Vicky comes across as a real down to earth, honest to God, normal ordinary woman.

0:10.0

Very much so. But let's be clear she's no ordinary woman. Very much so, but let's be clear she's no ordinary woman.

0:15.0

This is a story of one woman engaged in the fight of her life.

0:19.0

You're telling me, this is it, I'm going to die.

0:21.0

Six months is what she told me. It's a story of personal struggle,

0:26.6

but it's also the story of one woman who won't take no for an answer, a woman

0:31.6

willing to do battle with the powers that be to help save the lives of others.

0:35.0

I am one of the 221 people so I would be eternally grateful to this lady for highlighting this

0:41.5

you know Vicky feeling is just an absolute heroin in my eyes. She's incredible.

0:46.0

It's a truth about my sister's debt.

0:48.0

It came to light as a result of Vicky Feeling. Vicky Feeling is a hero.

0:52.0

She really is.

0:55.0

This is also the story of one woman leading the charge of radical social change in her own country.

1:00.3

I think the women of Ireland have gone through so much and we're not going away.

1:05.0

This is only the start and she is so humble about the whole thing herself, you know, she doesn't want to

1:11.0

be in the limelight at all, but she was just kind of thrown into it.

1:15.0

You know, she's a wonderful woman.

1:17.0

We will no longer allow the corrupt establishment to push us to one side and bully us into silence.

1:23.0

No more!

1:24.0

No more!

1:27.0

I'm proud of my mom because she's very strong and she's really changed the country

...

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