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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine TG4 Entertainment Magazine The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Investigatescancer treatment No treatment, no dignity: 'If she knew she was going to die, she would have had a party' Marian Quinlan was diagnosed with cancer and died less than three months later with no curative or palliative treatment. Her family want answers. 12.06am, 24 Aug 2025 Share options “IT WAS DEVASTATING for all of us.” A family left reeling after the death of a mother, wife and public servant are calling on reform of the HSE. Marian Quinlan “absolutely loved life” but died three months after being diagnosed with what she was told was treatable lung cancer. She received no treatment – curative or palliative – before she died. Instead, she spent her last days “waiting for the next appointment and waiting to start her treatment”, her daughter Clare Quinlan told The Journal Investigates. This comes as people across the country are experiencing delays to cancer scans and treatment, as exposed by our team last month. “We were always told from the very start that her cancer was going to be curable, either through surgery or radiation. At no stage was she told it was [advancing to] stage 4 or that there was any palliative option. “We were always under the impression that she was going to be okay. She was never at any point told she was dying or that she was going to die.” Even in the final days before her mother’s death, when Clare pleaded for information in order to decide whether her family abroad should travel home, she said that a doctor told her: “God gives everyone a day of birth and death, and I cannot tell when that time will be. Only God can.” Marian was personal secretary to former Fianna Fáil Minister Brian Lenihan Jnr. She worked for many years alongside the Dublin West TD, helping his constituents with issues, including with the health service. She even ran for local office for the party in 2004 but did not get elected. She left Fianna Fáil in 2015. Clare says the absence of any treatment for her mother can be blamed on a breakdown of communications across the health service. She is now calling for the urgent implementation of electronic records across the HSE. A spokesperson for the HSE said “the National Electronic Health Record (EHR) has now been established and is currently in its early planning stages”. The main hospitals that Marian Quinlan attended said that they cannot comment on individual cases and offered their condolences to the Quinlan family. The Journal / YouTube Investigations like this don’t happen without your support… Impactful investigative reporting is powered by people like you. Support The Journal Investigates Three months of waiting Marian was diagnosed with cancer towards the end of September last year when a large tumour was detected in her lungs. That’s when the waiting began. Two holidays were cancelled to make sure she was ready for treatment and surgery. Plans were postponed. Over three weeks later, she had her first appointment with her oncology team at the Mater University Hospital. She was cautiously hopeful and wrote on Facebook: Mother Nature has decided I need a bit of a break from the craic for a while. So for the next few months, the only craic in my life will be regular chemo and immunotherapy… keep me in mind, light the odd candle and hope for the best. But that treatment never happened. She was told to see a surgeon first. Three more weeks passed. Surgery was then ruled out and Marian was referred for treatment at St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network. Scans, appointments for radiation tattoos and a chemo information session then followed. Marian Quinlan alongside Brian Lenihan Jnr when she ran for local election.Clare Quinlan Clare Quinlan Another four weeks passed. It was now the start of December. Marian was excited to finally start treatment. Advertisement But five days before she was set to start, another call, another change of plan. Radiation would no longer proceed. Marian’s tumour appeared larger than on previous scans and radiation was not possible “without excessive dose to critical organs”, according to a consultant at St Luke’s Network in a response to a complaint by Clare. What now? Her oncology team at the Mater was to follow-up as her tumour had the right pathology for specific immunotherapy. An “admin error”, according to Clare, meant her appointment to find out this plan was cancelled. It was later reinstated but she told us: That was the end. She put her head in her hands and said: ‘They don’t care.’ Marian never made that appointment. An ambulance was called to her home in Co Roscommon three days after her radiation treatment was cancelled. She was admitted to Sligo University Hospital. Clare said there were no beds available for her to be transferred to the Mater until she was too sick to travel. Her experience in Sligo was “deeply distressing and exacerbated her declining health”, according to Clare. “We were appalled by the lack of dignity and respect.” According to Clare, staff members evaded questions when asked if Marian was dying, a nurse laughed at a family member when they requested a private room given her condition, she was not found for an extended period after falling. “I just couldn’t get answers,” she told us. At this stage Marian was confused, delirious and immobile. Marian was rushed to Sligo University Hospital after her condition deteriorated.Maria Delaney / The Journal Investigates Maria Delaney / The Journal Investigates / The Journal Investigates She died less than two weeks later, a day before her birthday and just a couple of days before Christmas. A Sligo University Hospital spokesperson said: “We recognise that care that the HSE provides before and at the end of a person’s life has a huge impact on each person and those close to them, both around the time of the person’s death and during the grieving process for those who survive them. “Sligo University Hospital’s communication with patients about their cancer diagnosis is aligned with the international best practice and the Irish national cancer strategy,” they said, adding: We regret any instances where a high standard of communication was not provided to patients or their families. She spent her final few days in a hospice alongside the hospital after a number of requests from her family to move her there. She died less than three months after her diagnosis. Having never been told she was dying. Still waiting for treatment. Paper records are failing patients After her mother died, Clare sought answers. She requested files from every healthcare facility she attended and made complaints to each of the hospitals. The more documents that arrived, the more her frustration grew. Clare said it appears that scans, admission notes and other tests demonstrate varying results, tumour sizes, where it is invading and other discrepancies. Even Marian’s name and age had inconsistencies. Most worryingly, this may have impacted the timing and type of treatment offered to Marian, according to her daughter. This is because, Clare said, tests which were done in one hospital were not always available in another. This was most clear when Marian’s tumour was tested for PD-L1, a protein which can be detected in tumours. This test determines whether someone will benefit from immunotherapy. The result of this test was available at a different hospital near the end of October, but St Luke’s Network – where Marian was referred to for radiation treatment – had noted “PDL1 pending” in her chart over a month later. “It’s quite obvious that one of the main problems [in the HSE] is communication,” Clare told The Journal Investigates. She blames the lack of clear communication and coordination between her mother’s healthcare providers for the fact her mother ultimately did not receive treatment, why she was continuously presented with curative treatment options despite the short time she ultimately had left. The Journal Investigates is dedicated to lifting the lid on how Ireland works. Our newsletter gives you an inside look at how we do this. Sign up here... You are now signed up Clare said her family is 'devastated' over how her mother was treated.Clare Quinlan Clare Quinlan “There were just so many different mistakes. It’s not being relayed back to the patients or their families accurately. The staff themselves, I’m sure, are completely confused. It’s all over the place. “We have so many people in rural Ireland that have to travel to cities for specialised clinics all of the time. But if they become ill in the meantime, they need to go to their local hospital. “And those local hospitals don’t have a record of the patient or how they’ve been treated or what’s wrong with them up to then. So everything needs to start all over again,” Clare said. It causes major delays. It causes extra tests that are just not required. She is calling on the urgent implementation of electronic records that allow hospital staff to see a patient’s history across the HSE. A spokesperson for the HSE said that is “developing a complete digital health record” and it is in its early planning stages. “Digitisation of our health services is recognised as one of the key programmes of work required to significantly transform and improve the quality and safety of health care for patients.” The National Electronic Health Record (EHR) “aims to replace paper records and disparate IT systems, allowing healthcare professionals to access and update patient information securely and efficiently, regardless of location”. “It will require significant and long-term investment to ensure we have safer, more joined up care and we are working with and through the Department of Health to refine this. “Once deployed the National EHR system will move us from key information and patient records that are locked in a paper format across multiple healthcare providers, to an environment where electronic patient records are shared securely across care settings with appropriate consent,” they added Electronic healthcare records are established in several European countries, including the UK which have successfully used them for over a decade. Previous Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was very critical about Ireland’s lack of electronic health records – describing Ireland as a ‘laggard’ in Europe. Clare told us that “the HSE needs to act now”. “We’re living in 2025, when cars can drive for themselves, when robots can cut your grass, but the HSE are relying on paper records to look after somebody’s health [and] ultimately, their life.” Hospitals engaging ‘directly with family’ The three main healthcare facilities who provided care to Marian responded to our requests for comment, though all said they could not comment on individual patients due to confidentiality. “The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital’s priority is to be at the frontier of compassion, concern and clinical care for all our patients and their families. “Discussions about a cancer diagnosis, the stage of the disease, available treatment options and end-of-life care are led by the patient’s consultant,” the Mater spokesperson added. They said that these conversations are supported by clinical nurse specialists. A spokesperson for St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network said that it “has engaged with the family as part of the complaints management process and remain available to them should they have any additional questions or concerns”. “We recognise that care that the HSE provides before and at the end of a person’s life has a huge impact on each person and those close to them, both around the time of the person’s death and during the grieving process.” The spokesperson outlined the treatment process, saying that the network has “numerous policies, procedures, and guidelines to inform the management of patients throughout the Radiotherapy treatment pathway based on national and international guidelines and best practice”. Sligo University Hospital also said that they “will engage directly with the family on this matter to deal with any issues arising from the complaints process”. Marian 'was out the door at the drop of a hat if she thought she was going to have a bit of craic'.Clare Quinlan Clare Quinlan A HSE spokesperson told The Journal Investigates that “treatment for people with cancer is ordinarily guided by the treatment plans that are discussed at multidisciplinary tumour conferences”. These are “then proposed to and agreed with the individual patient. This treatment plan is refined if required as the treatment progresses.” But Clare says it is unfair that her mother spent her last three months “waiting for the next appointment to happen”. If she had known what was ahead, “she wouldn’t have stayed in bed… She would have had a party. She would have seen as many people as she possibly could.” The Journal Investigates Reporter / Editor: Maria Delaney • Producer: Nicky Ryan • Social Media: Cliodhna Traver Investigations like this don’t happen without your support... Impactful investigative reporting is powered by people like you. Over 5,000 readers have already supported our mission with a monthly or one-off payment. Join them here: Support The Journal Maria Delaney Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “No treatment, no dignity: 'If she knew she was going to die, she would have had a party'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “No treatment, no dignity: 'If she knew she was going to die, she would have had a party'”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... cancer care Cancer Delays cancer treatment electronic health records Investigates Maria Delaney Mater Hospital Sligo Hospital St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network News in 60 seconds How much do you know about lovely Laois? Who are the red-clad campaigners on a door-to-door ‘crusade’ against the SPHE curriculum? 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