'I'll always be with you' - Irish woman discovers letter written to her by beloved sister days before her death

A WOMAN has shared the heartfelt letter she received from her beloved late sister in the days before she died. 

Susan O’Neill, 64, from Dublin passed away last Wednesday after contracting Covid-19. 

Her sister, Lorna, had been unable to see her in person for some time. 

Their last meeting had come when Lorna stopped outside the window of her sister’s bedroom after dropping off some essential shopping during lockdown. 

Susan had not been well for a while and was undergoing cancer treatment prior to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Not being able to hug her sister during that final meeting had proven difficult for Lorna to bear after so many years spent close to her best friend and sibling. 

Coronavirus meant that she never got a chance to say goodbye in the way she wanted. 

But Susan made sure her sister knew how much she loved her and cherish their time together, writing a heartfelt letter for Lorna to find and read after her death. 

When Susan had first asked Lorna if she wanted her to write her a letter, she insisted there was no need to as she knew how she felt already, 

But Susan wrote one anyway, passing it on to her daughter who left it in the glove compartment of Lorna’s car for her to find. 

This week, Lorna decided to share the letter on the radio, reading aloud to Joe Duffy on RTE Radio 1’s Liveline. 

“Lorna,” it begins 

“Yours is the hardest letter to write, how can I put into words how much I love you and how grateful I am to have you as my sister. 

“You always have my back even when I’m wrong. 

“You make me laugh so much I nearly wet my knickers. 

“We can bitch for Ireland, about everybody else because we know we’re perfect. 

“The times I spend with you are so precious, there’s nothing to compare to sisterly love 

“Thank you for the beautiful gift of Dillon, tell him how much I love him, but I’m sure he already knows. 

“I know you will be very sad when I’m gone but I’ll always be with [you], and you will get through this. 

“Know how much you are loved by me and I will always be greatful for the time we have had together. I love you so, so very much. 

“Love always your loving sister Susan. 

“P.S. I cried writing this letter, I expect you to do the same reading it. :)” 

Susan’s funeral was held last Saturday, with Covid-19 restrictions in place. 

It was an occasion Lorna and her family had been dreading given the limits on the number of people allowed to attend. 

However, on the day of her funeral some 200 loved ones and neighbours lined the streets from Susan’s home on Balally Drive all the way to the church where the service was held, clapping as the hearse passed by.  

Speaking on RTE, Lorna thanked everyone involved for “the love and the care that we felt from all these people that had made this effort” was “just unbelievable”.  

“The love just lifted our hearts and it really got me through it.” 

R.I.P. Susan O’Neill. You loved and were truly loved.