Last Saturday, two teams from across Northern Ireland gathered in the City of Derry for the Rosie Stewart Memorial Bowl, an annual event established to honor a rugby player whose career was tragically cut short by illness. Stewart, who won four caps for Ireland between 1999 and 2000 and helped found Ulster Women’s Rugby, passed away in 2004 following a breast cancer diagnosis. She was 33.
For her family, the match serves as both a tribute and a platform for the causes she championed. Colette Risely, Stewart’s sister, emphasized that raising awareness about female health would have been deeply important to the late athlete. “I think the more we do the talking, the more lives we will save,” Risely said. “Rosie would be the one to promote the awareness too if she could.”
Beyond the competition between Stewart’s former club, Cooke, and Enniskillen, the afternoon featured a focused discussion on women’s health hosted by Jacinta McCool from the Western Trust and fitness coach Claire O’Hagan. Topics included breast and cervical cancer awareness, as well as the impact of the menstrual cycle on athletic performance.
Kelly Gormley, a player for the City of Derry women’s rugby club, described the event as poignant, noting that several members of her squad have been directly affected by breast cancer. “It’s at the forefront of our minds,” Gormley said. “When you are delivering information and awareness, it’s information you’re taking to 20 or 30 girls.”
McCool highlighted the importance of early detection, noting that prompt diagnosis significantly improves cure rates for breast and cervical cancers. She expressed hope that the message would spread beyond the stadium. “Hopefully anybody that hears one thing, they go off and tell three or four of their friends, then we are reaching a much bigger audience,” she explained.
For Gormley, Stewart is remembered as a pioneer who paved the way for the current surge in women’s rugby participation in Northern Ireland. “She started a change for women to play rugby,” Gormley said. “She was knocking down doors before people even knew about women’s rugby.”
The link between menstrual cycles and athletic performance is so under-discussed. Glad this event is bringing those topics into the light.
Thirty-three is far too young to lose anyone. Let’s make sure her legacy saves lives through early detection, not just memories.
Did the event distribute any brochures or contact info for screenings? It would be helpful to have next steps for those in the crowd.
I had no idea she was a pioneer for Ulster Women’s Rugby. History often forgets these trailblazers. Thanks for sharing her story.
Such a powerful way to honor Rosie. The combination of sport and health education is exactly what we need more of.