Roseanna Ruane bravely opened up about her late daughter Saoirse

Roseanna appeared on The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy to talk about her beloved late daughter.

She explained that Saoirse had a CT scan in April 2023 that changed everything for their family.

The mum told Tubridy: "She presented very well and the CT scan was done and it was, “Sure, lookit, we’ll give you a ring later,” this was the norm. Off we go down to Galway."

Her mum continued:

"We thought no more of it; we thought it was going to be another good review, but it wasn’t. We got the CT scans before we left Dublin."

Roseanna explained that she knew something was wrong when the doctor called them into a room.

"It’s that look between the doctor and you in the corridor and the beckoning, I just knew."

They were told nothing more could be done for Saoirse on that devastating day.

"We were told that day that there was no more they could do. They could keep throwing chemo at her; they could keep having surgeries and surgeries but… She had started initially with the cancer in the tibia in her leg, and then she got cancer in her leg, and this was a relapse… it just kept coming."

"We were being told her time was limited now, and this was April 2023. I asked the question would we have her for Christmas and I was told possibly not.

"That’s the day we started grieving the life that we knew was ahead," she added.

Saoirse became a national treasure after appearing on the Late Late Toy Show and sharing her story with the public.

She passed away following a long battle with cancer at the age of 12 in 2024.

Saoirse inspired the Toy Show Appeal, which has since raised millions for children’s charities.