“A great and loving wife to Christy and a brilliant mother to her three sons Conor, David and John. They will miss her forever but her beautiful spirit will never be far from her four lads.

“In 1996 with three young children at home, Imelda was working in the busy ER in Naas Hospital. Through the community nurse she heard of us, Jonathan Irwin and Mary Ann O’Brien, and our very sick baby Jack, whom we were attempting to care for at home.

“To put it mildly we were struggling. She came to our house in Balitore, arriving at the door with a big, beautiful smile and offered to mind Jack for us three or so nights a week, to give us some sleep and a breather.

“I honestly thought an angel had arrived at our door.

“Jack was profoundly brain damaged and needed around the clock medical care to manage his 18/20 hour per day tube feeding schedule and management of his severe epilepsy. Imelda transformed our lives with her time, her advice, her expert nursing and her warm friendship. The whole house just loved her from the first day.

“Imelda was our inspiration to start the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, a charity that has provided nursing and care for over 2,700 sick children in their own homes since 1997 and raising over €65 million to do so.

“We will always be indebted to Imelda, and I honestly do believe she was an angel sent to us.

“Jack and Jill is a charity that always remained close to Imelda’s heart. As an avid hiker she recently completed an ‘Up the Hill for Jack & Jill’ challenge, helping to raise money for the charity.

“Imelda will always be loved and never forgotten by anyone that was fortunate enough to meet her.”

– Mary Ann O’Brien. February 2022