WESTLIFE star Shane Filan has made an incredible gesture for cancer survivors following the tragic death of his beloved parents.
The singer, who actively fundraises for the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), lost his mum Mae to lung cancer on December 15, 2019 and his dad Peter to pancreatic cancer on October 4, 2020.
The Sligo native will be paying tribute to his mum and dad alongside thousands of people across the country who have been affected by cancer.
The Irish Cancer Society Celebrate and Remember event will be taking place on September 29 at 6pm in the Aviva Stadium.
The singer is helping to bring a global movement, Relay for Life – which celebrates survivorship, and pays tribute to those lost to the disease – to the national stage.
The 44-year-old has urged anyone who’s been affected by cancer to attend the night.
Speaking at the launch, Shane said: “There isn’t a family in Ireland that hasn’t been touched by cancer, with 9,000 lives taken by the disease in Ireland every year.
“We want to come together to stand with and celebrate the 200,000 people living with and beyond cancer across the country.
“The Irish Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Celebrate and Remember event is set to be a truly spectacular evening, I am so honoured to be a part of it, and I urge anyone affected by cancer to come along, take part, celebrate and pay tribute.”
Speaking about his grief, Shane told Andrea Gilligan on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live: “It never gets easier – you have days where it’s very difficult. But when you talk about it you get to think about them.
“And you think about their memories, the happy times you had with them. When I think about them all I think about is them being happy in the good times.”
Shane explained how when he sings the band’s hit song, You Raise Me Up, he remembers his parents.
He said: “It’s a very emotional song, I think of my parents every time I sing it. I thought about them when they were alive, I think about them when they’re gone. It’s a beautiful song. It’s like the first time I sing it every time I sing it.”
There will be a full line-up of live entertainment on the night including some special guests such as Shane, Newstalk‘s Andrea Gilligan who will be the MC and 2FM’s Emma Power, who will be DJ’ing.
Participants will walk laps of the Aviva Stadium in memory of those lost to cancer and to give hope to the 200,000 cancer survivors in Ireland today.
The stadium will be lit up as the first national Candle of Hope ceremony takes place, where personalised candle bags will be lit in celebration of cancer survivorship and to pay tribute to loved ones lost to cancer.
There’s several ways to get involved in the movement – by taking part as a relay participant, a spectator from the sidelines or if you can’t make the event – you can buy a candle bag which will be lit during the ceremony.
Tickets for the event are €15 + booking fee and are available at ticketmaster.ie.
Anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis themselves can join the event as a Survivor Participant and join other survivors to walk the opening lap. Tickets for ‘Survivor Participants’ are completely free.
To buy tickets or learn more, visit cancer.ie/aviva.