A new Netflix series about the Guinness family is in the works
A new Netflix series about the Guinness family is in the works

Sarah Finnan

Why the music of Sinéad O’Connor will stay with us forever
Why the music of Sinéad O’Connor will stay with us forever

Jan Brierton

This homely thatched cottage is on the market for €250,000
This homely thatched cottage is on the market for €250,000

Sarah Finnan

This adorable West Cork cottage is on the market for €345,000
This adorable West Cork cottage is on the market for €345,000

Megan Burns

Meet the Dublin man meticulously restoring vintage typewriters
Meet the Dublin man meticulously restoring vintage typewriters

Lizzie Gore-Grimes

10 unique Irish stays for something a little different this summer
10 unique Irish stays for something a little different this summer

Sarah Gill

This incredible waterfront home in West Cork is on the market for €1.1 million
This incredible waterfront home in West Cork is on the market for €1.1 million

Sarah Finnan

This annual pass is the best way to keep the kids entertained all year round
This annual pass is the best way to keep the kids entertained all year round

IMAGE

Small bathroom ideas we’re nabbing from these Irish homes
Small bathroom ideas we’re nabbing from these Irish homes

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The Irish designers beloved by your favourite celebrities
The Irish designers beloved by your favourite celebrities

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Image / Self / Health & Wellness / Real-life Stories
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SELF

‘My sister was your typical Irish cailín – pale skin and freckles. She died aged 31’


by Amy Lynch
22nd Aug 2022

In her 20s, Sinead had had pre-cancerous cervical cells removed. Then came a wound on her ankle that wouldn’t heal. Then headaches and migraines. What followed was a malignant melanoma Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, which led to the removal of brain tumours just before her 30th birthday. Sinead died a year later.

With only four years between the two sisters, Barbara Brown and Sinead were like any other sisters growing up, squabbling over clothes and makeup while remaining fiercely loyal to each other. “She could protect me within an inch of her life, and I would do the same for her. We did everything for each other,” recalls Barbara. Sorting through photos of her older sister Sinead, Barbara remembers her favourite song, American Pie, as well as...

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