Cervical cancer campaigner, Vicky Phelan, has died, it has been confirmed.

Ms Phelan (48) died in the early hours of November 14 at Milford Hospice in Limerick. She was a mother to two children aged 16 and 10.

In 2011, she was told a smear test she had undergone showed no abnormalities, however in 2014, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. In 2017, she discovered that an internal audit carried out by CervicalCheck had found that her original smear test results in 2011 were incorrect.

She was also told in 2017 that her cancer was now incurable and she was given 6-12 months to live.

In 2018, she settled a High Court action with Clinical Pathology Labs US for €2.5 million. It had been subcontracted by the CervicalCheck programme to assess smear results. This settlement was made without an admission of liability.

Her case prompted a number of other women to come forward, some of whom has already been given terminal cancer diagnoses. Despite her own diagnosis, Ms Phelan continued to campaign for better care for women. This led to the independent investigation into CervicalCheck undertaken by Dr Gabriel Scally in 2018.

Ms Phelan was also a founding member of the 221+CervicalCheck Patient Support Group.

In recent years, she had undergone extensive treatment in an attempt to prolong her life, including undergoing treatment for months in the US in 2021.

Tributes were led by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who described her as “a woman of great courage, integrity, honesty and generosity of spirit”.

Meanwhile, a statement by the 221+ group said it had “lost our biggest big sister”.

“We are shattered. She told us this day would come but she fought so hard and so well that we couldn’t let ourselves think it would happen. Our hearts go out to Jim, Amelia and Darragh and to Vicky’s mam and dad, her sisters and brothers and her extended family. Our pain is suffocating just now but it is nothing compared to their loss.”

The National Women's Council described Ms Phelan as "an absolute inspiration to so many women and girls and everyone who knew her".

"She will be remembered for her courage in speaking out about the failings of our health system, her resilience in the face of adversity, her authenticity and her kindness. Despite the precious little time she had left, she never stopped to speak out and challenge the status quo. She will be greatly missed. May she rest in Peace," said the council's director, Orla O'Connor.