The festive season is in full swing, and for us, it kicked off in the most wonderful way with our annual Christmas Lunch at the Shelbourne on December 4th. It was a truly special day filled with warmth, joy, and generosity. This was thanks to the incredible support from attendees and our sponsor, Flogas who has been a steadfast partner to the Marie Keating Foundation for over 10 years. Funds raised from this year’s event will support our Comfort Fund, which provides vital financial assistance to individuals and families navigating a cancer diagnosis and struggling due to the financial burden this can present. For more information on this vital service, click here.

As we look back on 2025, we celebrate another year full of drive, innovation, and collaboration, leading to notable achievements, meaningful and impactful work. Despite the pressures of rising cancer diagnoses, an overburdened healthcare system, and an increasingly difficult fundraising landscape, the Marie Keating Foundation has continued to make a real difference in communities across Ireland. We are incredibly proud of how our small, dedicated team has continued to rise to every demand with resilience and commitment.

1 in 2 of us will get cancer at some point in our lives and cancer is now the leading cause of death in Ireland. The need for supports for people diagnosed with cancer continues to grow. With an average of 44,073 diagnosed annually and around 220,728 people living with cancer or adapting to life after cancer, our services have never been more in demand.

Accessible Education and Awareness Nationwide

In 2025, our specialist cancer nurses engaged with more than 21,000 people across Ireland, delivering the critical message of cancer prevention and early detection through community visits, school workshops, and workplace initiatives all around the country. By providing these services free of charge, particularly to people in disadvantaged and marginalised communities, we ensure that those most in need can access information and support, helping to break down barriers to early diagnosis and care.

Our ongoing focus remains on addressing issues such as lack of symptom awareness, poor health literacy, health system delays, and inequalities in access to treatment. These barriers often lead to poorer outcomes for patients from underserved groups, and we are committed to providing the information and support needed in a culturally sensitive way to close this gap.

An example of our works impact is highlighted here by An Garda Síochána, through the work we support within its Women’s Network, focusing on cancer awareness and prevention initiatives.

Superintendent Joanne O’Brien and the Southern Region Women’s Network hosted a series of cancer awareness information sessions, delivered by the Foundation. In her words:

“Your dedication to promoting health awareness and cancer prevention has made a significant difference within our organisation. The educational materials, resources, and insightful presentations delivered by your team, including Col Conway and Kathryn Murphy, have played an important role in raising awareness among our staff, members, and trainees. Since then, approximately 25 members have been referred on for further consultation as a result of the five information days, a significant figure, considering the potential life-saving benefits of early diagnosis.”

Making a difference in communities with Unmet Needs

We launched a landmark Initiative to improve cancer prevention and cancer screening access for adults with Intellectual Disabilities called ‘Healthy Living for Life.’

At the heart of this year-long initiative was the creation of user-friendly cancer education resources, adapted from our existing cancer awareness materials. A key milestone was the official launch of an easy-to-read booklet focused on cancer prevention, healthy lifestyle habits, and the national cancer screening services available.  The resource provides accessible, engaging, and empowering health information tailored specifically for adults with intellectual disabilities. The initiative was the brainchild of Health Action Groups in Cavan and Monaghan HSE Disability Services and developed in collaboration with the Marie Keating Foundation.

Our annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 13^th is always an important day for the Marie Keating Foundation as we hosted our annual seminar. This year’s seminar focused on ‘Living with Uncertainty’, bringing together patients, families, advocates, and medical professionals to discuss the challenges, unmet needs, experiences, and support of those living with metastatic breast cancer. A day of connection, empowerment, and call to action. Our Positive Living community played a huge role in informing and developing this year’s seminar led by our wonderful Director of Nursing Helen Forristal. Recordings can be seen here.

Early Detection in focus

The importance of early cancer detection was in focus of Marie Keating Foundation’s show garden at Bord Bia Bloom 2025. Inspired by the idiom ‘the early bird catches the worm’, the garden featured a large wooden birdhouse, created to emphasise the critical importance of early cancer detection to encourage early intervention to significantly enhance treatment outcomes and ultimately save lives.

Advocacy for Change: Key Campaigns and Calls to Action

The Marie Keating Foundation’s #NoRegrets campaign, launched as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, has played a key role in advocating for earlier bowel cancer screening in Ireland. In collaboration with patient advocacy group Bowel Cancer Ireland, the Foundation has consistently called on the Government to lower the national bowel screening age from 59 to 50, based on the alarming rise in early-onset bowel cancer.

The Foundation outlined that:

• 1 in 5 people diagnosed with bowel cancer in Ireland is under 60
• 1 in 10 is to someone under 50
• Incidence of bowel cancer in those under 50 has nearly doubled over the past 25 years

This October, with a rising trend of breast cancer in younger women below the screening age of 50 and a missed screening target by 76,334 over past two years, the Marie Keating Foundation launched a new public health education campaign, called ‘Do it for the One you Love’ which was designed to encourage women to regularly self-check their breasts to support the early detection of breast cancer.

The campaign was launched by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Government buildings. Its aim is to encourage women to regularly check their breasts and to use a simple guide to carry out an effective self-examination.

As part of our Big Check-Up lung cancer awareness campaign, the Foundation has been calling for a national lung cancer screening programme. To support this effort, the Foundation launched The Breathless Collection for International Lung Cancer Awareness Month, a campaign highlighting the early symptoms of lung cancer. The collection featured a series of bespoke garments and accessories – including a gilet, scarf, tote bag, shoes, and coffee keep-cup – each designed to physically replicate the hidden weight, restriction and exhaustion that people with lung cancer may experience before diagnosis.

Supported by Deputy Catherine Ardagh, who wore pieces from the collection and championed the campaign in the Dáil, the initiative emphasises the importance of awareness alongside screening to save lives.

The future for Cancer Care
There has been positive progress in the cancer space, with greater recognition of the patient voice and initiatives such as Lung Health Check, a new lung cancer pilot screening programme. The Marie Keating Foundation continues to advocate for early detection, patient support and awareness campaigns, while highlighting the critical importance of an early access scheme for new cancer treatments. This scheme allows people with life-threatening or seriously debilitating conditions to access new medicines once approved by the European Medicines Agency but before full reimbursement – a crucial step, as public patients in Ireland can currently wait up to three years to access new cancer treatments and drugs while those with private insurance gain quicker access. By championing these initiatives, the Foundation ensures that progress in cancer care – from screening and awareness to timely, life-saving treatment – translates into real, tangible benefits for communities across Ireland.

Partnerships Making A Difference

We are immensely grateful that our lifesaving partnership with the Dalata Hotel Group has been extended for a further 3 years. Through the remarkable commitment, kindness and generosity shown by the Dalata Hotel Group and its employees nationwide, we have been able to bring lifesaving cancer information to thousands of people all around Ireland. The funds raised throughout our first three years significantly enhanced our capacity to deliver our vital nursing outreach services to the people who needed it most. Announced in April, the second term of the partnership will focus on delivery of cancer support and survivorship services at locations throughout Ireland.

Innovation and Recognition

In January, we were proud to achieve the Triple Lock of Good Governance for the tenth year reflect our commitment to transparency and accountability.

Some additional highlights from this year that I must mention are:

• Being nominated as Best Finance Team in the prestigious Charities Institute Ireland Charities Excellence Awards.
• Our Paddy’s Day Dip fundraiser in March led by the wonderful Holly Carpenter and her husband Jamie Hunt, which raised over €20,000.  Learn more
• Our 8th Annual BRCA Seminar was hosted in the Springfield Hotel, Leixlip, on May 9th. The theme was ‘Supporting you every step of your journey’ It was a hugely successful day full of education and connection. Recordings can be found here.
• Our patron Ronan Keating once again hosted the Marie Keating Foundation’s 27th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic sponsored by Skechers at The K Club in August. It was a wonderful day that raised funds for our vital support and survivorship services.
• The wonderful Tour de Force cycle team took on 600km from Budapest to Lake Bled raising €40,000 in aid of The Marie Keating Foundation this September.
• We were delighted to partner with our long-term supporters the Grafton Barber for their ‘Don’t be Nuts, Check the Facts’ campaign championing Men’s Health in November. Learn more here.

Challenges

While 2025 brought many highlights, it also presented a number of challenges. An ongoing challenge impacting the Foundation is funding volatility, intensified by our significant reliance on fundraised income and in a very uncertain economy. An overburdened healthcare system and increasing delays in screening and follow up appointments has led to an increase in the need of our services as people navigate the physical and emotional challenges this presents. Our Ask the Nurse Helpline and our work in communities around Ireland became ever more vital in supporting those left waiting for answers.

One of the most profound challenges the Foundation has faced this year has been the loss of several of our much-loved and deeply respected Patient Ambassadors. These remarkable individuals were at the heart of our work with the cancer community. Their voices resonated far and wide, forging powerful connections with communities and driving meaningful change. Their passing has been felt deeply across the organisation — not only in the tangible gap their absence leaves in our outreach, but also in the emotional impact on our team, many of whom had built close and lasting relationships.

To the families and loved ones of those we have lost, we extend our heartfelt sympathies and enduring gratitude. May they Rest in Eternal Peace. We are committed to honouring their legacy. Their courage and contributions will never be forgotten.

The future

The Marie Keating Foundation is currently developing its next three-year Strategic Plan (2026–2028). This planning process helps us reflect on what we do best and identify new ways to grow and improve. The strategy will guide how we evolve as an organisation to reach and support even more people, continuing to empower and support people affected by cancer across Ireland.

Immense Gratitude

At its core, the Marie Keating Foundation is about people—patients, families, supporters, and communities. None of our work would be possible without the incredible dedication of our team, our Board, the Keating family, our volunteers, supporters and patient ambassadors, who give their time and expertise so generously.

To our valued corporate sponsors and companies that helped to make our campaigns, programmes and events so successful, we would like to say a huge thank you.

Lastly, we would be remiss not to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you—our supporters and friends—who consistently support our services, programmes, and events each day.

From all of us at the Marie Keating Foundation, a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who supported us this year—whether by hosting a fundraiser, attending an event, reading our newsletter, sharing our resources, or spreading awareness of our campaigns.

As we look ahead to 2026, our goal is to build on this year’s achievements, supporting even more people and their families through their cancer journeys and connecting with more communities. None of this would be possible without your incredible support.

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and joyful Christmas and a healthy New Year. And please remember, if you or your family ever need us, we’re here for you.

Liz Yeates

CEO Marie Keating Foundation