Please keep Celine Garvey in your hearts and prayers today & always x
Our shining star we are right here beside you as you have always been for us x
Hello Substack Family,
I write to you after getting the following update about a dear friend:
This is a post from Celine's family.
Celine suffered a stroke while in hospital on Sunday, as a result of the progressing Cancer.
Although she is receiving the best of care she has been declining in health ever since.
As of today our worst fears are being realised, and we are now taking it literally one day at a time.
Thanks to all for your thoughts, wishes and support.
It means a lot to know how much she is cared for.
x
Robert, Mark, Linda & Celines Mam Josie.
Celine is not only a very dear friend of mine but has been part of the 'Living and Laughing with Lou' Facebook Family since the very start and for that reason, I am here asking for your faith, your prayers, your strength and your hope for Celine. I believe in unified hope by joining our hearts together so please if you believe in anything or if you believe in nothing but the love of good people, please hold Celine in your heart today as she battles hard to fight this horrendous fight again cancer.
Celine has been an amazing friend & colleague for all my working life. She is young in age, similar to myself and is a single mam to beautiful daughter Elanor.
When I was promoting and managing Irish artists for a decade or so, she was one of my biggest supporters never mind, the bands. She played all their songs, plugged all their gigs and had us in studio every time she could. We have always remained the best of friends, & as her working career took her to become the booking manager in the beautiful Moate Theatre in Naas, I was so thrilled to see someone so passionate and positive about the Irish arts scene rise to the top.
She was so good when I approached her about shooting a music video in the Moat Theatre for one of the bands I was working with, and of course, in true Celine style she said ‘Oh my God, yes, yes and yes.”
We kept in touch throughout the lockdown and she always was one of the first people who would enter my FB lives and contribute fun and chat. Herself and Elanor joined in virtually in the messing I created for kids at the time and for all the Disney singalongs I did on the avenue, Celine would suggest songs and totally embrace the fun with how badly I not only sang but how useless I was at singing the right lyrics. She attended the book launch of ‘Granny Nancy’ with Elanor and I was so grateful for the girls being with me to celebrate such a magic moment.
She invited me along to her brilliant Christmas events to promote my book and I attended two of them in December 2022. Me and mam had so much fun with Celine as we always do 💖
It was in this moment that the two of us decided we would put on a show together. Celine was going to interview me on stage in the theatre and we would record it in the setting of a live podcast with an audience. She was herself in everyway - in that the minute we came up with the idea she was like, ‘hold on, let me get the diary and let’s put it in. This is happening Lou’. And that is what we did. We booked the date together, I made the poster, told the community about it and arranged for a local hotel to collaborate with us to accommodate FB family travelling to the event. It was all very exciting and a kind of long time dream me and Celine had - to do something together.
And just like we all know well here in the Substack family, life had its own plan. Celine had mentioned she had been suffering a pain in her rib and shoulder but stated to me “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ve been to doctors and hospitals and everyone is saying it’s nothing to worry about”. Following that conversation as we made plans for the show, her pain increased and she said “Lou I really feel something is wrong.” I shared that I was worried for her too as I felt in my gut something was astray. I felt something was being missed. From there, she fought once again for someone to look at this pain in more detail. And eventually they did and sadly they found a huge tumour growing inside Celine’s beautiful body. Since that day, she has fought and fought and fought. She has been the bright and beautiful beacon of light that we all know so well but it’s been a horrendous journey for her. Everyone who loves Celine rallied around her and a huge fundraising campaign began led by the beautiful Kathleen Smith of Naas. Kathleen was Celine’s boss in the early days of the Moat chapter and someone I have so much time for- another really good egg. Again proving my theory, where you find one good person, you always find two. Kathleen is an amazing woman and she brought so many people together across the county and country to drive on financial supports in this terrible time for Celine.
In November of last year, I ran a series of talks online around the theme of hope and love and of course the magical Celine was one of my speakers.
She was amazing as I knew she would be but she clearly was in a lot of pain. But of course Celine being Celine, she showed up and gave her all to the group. It was a very magical get together and she was so inspiring. As she battled a ranging cancer, she smiled, laughed and offered a story of resilience and bravery like no other to all who attended. We all left moved by her strength and her wiliness to share her light while travelling through her own darkness.
And it is this very story of why I am writing to you today. I am calling on you to help me send Celine your resilience, your bravery, your light and your healing strength at this awful time for her and her family. I believe in the magic of sending healing to others through our hearts, our minds and our spirits.
In this moment there is very little anyone can do but I truly believe in the power of prayer. The power of lighting candles. The power of love, hope and faith transcending all darknesses that we face in this world. I believe in the power of sending your heart’s energy to someone who needs it. And today I am asking you, my friend, my substack family, my virtual friend wherever you may be reading this, that just for a moment you look up to the sky and you ask the powers that lie beyond our eyes gaze that they might help my dear, beautiful friend as she fights for her life.
There are people all across the world that need us to believe in the good, believe in rising above the dark and beating the odds and I will include them all in the my prayers this morning. I will ask Gran to do all she can from her seat in Heaven and I know she will.
Thank you for reading this letter and for hearing my call.
My dearest friend Celine, we are here with you. We are holding your hands. We are calling your name. We are begging your spirit to keep fighting. You can do this and we are with you. We send all our love and strength to your beautiful Elanor and your ever loving family and closest friends. Your circle is huge because you have given us all so much love over the years, it is now time we give it back ten fold to you in your hour of need.
Thank you for reading this and thank you for your prayers and for lighting your candles. If prayer is not your thing and that is totally ok, I would be so grateful if you might be tempted to light a candle or just lean into your inner light and ask for Celine to be given more time. Her beautiful daughter and family need that.
Also this is a reminder to us all, we can be young, fit, healthy and smiling and overnight, within a year, we can be fighting for our lives.
Thank you for your love and kindness and for being you.
Today and always we will pray for anyone who feels alone, is battling an illness, is carrying a cross of any kind or feels they are not seen or might feel forgotten. I see you and I have you right in the centre of my heart & prayers always.
Continue shining bright my beautiful lanterns of light,
Lou xx
Love and strength to you and Céline and her family xx
Aw Lou xx love b and hugs , sending healing prayers for Celine please god bless her xx🥰💫💫💫💫💛💚❤🤍🙏🙏🙏🙏