By highlighting a personal tragedy for herself and her family, Susie Long mobilised a country into thinking about where we are going as a society, mourners attending her funeral in Dublin heard yesterday.
In his address at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harold's Cross, family friend Malcolm Noonan described Ms Long as "a wonderful spirit, a wonderful human being" who had a "very strong and serious campaigning spirit.
"She really mobilised a country into thinking about itself and thinking about ourselves, as to where we're going as a society.
"And she used what was a personal tragedy for herself and for her family to turn it into a force for positive change. And it's been remarkable, the outpouring of emotion from so many people, so many quarters, has been nothing short of astounding.
"[It was] a very selfless act by a very selfless person, to use, and to be able to turn such a negative personal tragedy and personal situation and bring about such positive energy, and again make us all think who we are . . . Like she said herself on May 31st at the launch of [a new cancer] day unit, it's not rocket science, the health service."
Ms Long, who died aged 41 on Friday after a battle against bowel cancer, first highlighted her plight under the pseudonym "Rosie" on RTÉ radio last January, appearing in the media on several subsequent occasions under her real name.
In an e-mail to Liveline host Joe Duffy, she outlined how she had spent seven months waiting for her cancer to be diagnosed, because she was a public patient.
By contrast, she said, a private patient had been treated within three days, although she expressed relief that he had received the treatment he required.
Ms Long's husband, Conor MacLiam, and two children Áine and Fergus, attended yesterday's service along with many family and friends. Mr MacLiam read a passage titled Not, how did she die, but how did she live?, and later her children each placed a white rose next to the curtains as their mother's coffin disappeared.
Another friend, Teresa Ryan, said Ms Long was described as a quiet and shy child, who grew up in Ohio before moving here and making a life for herself after getting off the plane "not knowing a soul".
"Susie was very serious about human rights and social justice but she had a great sense of humour . . . she was interested in people and what they thought and how they felt.
"Engaging with Susie was always uplifting, particularly in these past few months. One friend told me that she went in to see her, expecting it to be difficult, [but] she came out elated."
Elizabeth Coyle, lay chaplain at Our Lady's Hospice, described how she had got to know Ms Long and had been present in the hours before her death.
She said Ms Long had left behind "so much and she has really made a difference, and that's what she wanted. She gave so much in the short time that she had.
"[But] I know Susie did not want to die, she wanted to be with her family."