Bernie’s Story
The late Bernie Gibson whose generosity provided the building that became The West Clare Cancer Centre
In an act of extreme generosity, Bernie Gibson, late of Corry Lane, Kilkee, Co. Clare and Craughwell, Co. Galway, bequeathed her home to the Committee of the West Clare Mini Marathon. Bernie’s two bedroomed cottage by the sea subsequently became the West Clare Mini Marathon Cancer Care Centre.
The late Bernie Gibson whose generosity provided the building that became The West Clare Cancer Centre
My Cottage by the Sea
As a child I used to dream of a Cottage by the Sea.
After roaming around different parts of the world, firstly getting married, then sadly losing my husband, I felt life had finished for me. However, I had to keep going and, as luck would have it, I ended up in Kilkee, in a small Cottage by the Sea. It was small, dilapidated little cottage with broken windows and an old range that was falling apart.
But I just fell in love with it. Life had started again for me. It was just like a bit of heaven, the wide-open spaces and all the people I will never forget.
I have lived there in this cottage for 24 years now and it is still beautiful. The cottage stands for my life and I gave up my city ways and realised that the simple things in life are precious because, as you go through life, you want this and that but you need so little too live. So, to anyone struggling out there, there is always a silver lining to every cloud, I believe that God has done all this for me.
By Bernie