Féile marks one year of courage and recovery
The mother of a Cork teenager who lost both legs in a farming accident last summer has shared her family’s miraculous 12-month journey from terror to triumph.
Speaking recently on Cork’s 96FM’s ‘The Opinion Line With PJ Coogan’, Maureen O’Sullivan, mother of tractor accident victim, Féile O'Sullivan, described herself as “one of the lucky parents”.
On 2 July 2025, then 12-year-old Beara youngster, Féile, was involved in a horror tractor accident which left doctors no choice but to amputate both of her legs.
“I explained to Féile what had happened and explained to her what they had to do to save her life,” recalled Maureen.
She continued: “And she just goes, 'Sure, I knew all that, Mom. I remember everything. But my only question is, do you think I'll have to have a peg leg like a pirate, or what's the story?'. Myself and the nurse just looked at each other going, ‘Is she for real?’. That would totally tell you Féile's humour.”
Now affectionately known as the ‘Queen of Crumlin’ due to her celebrity status among the staff at the Dublin hospital for children, Féile has made a remarkable recovery since her accident.
From enduring more than 100 operations to learning to stand on a new prosthetic limb and taking up wheelchair sports, Féile’s journey has captured the hearts of people across Cork and around the world.
Shortly after the accident, Garnish GAA Club in West Cork set up the Stand for Féile campaign to help Féile’s family with mounting medical expenses, home adaptations, and ongoing rehabilitation. The campaign was a massive success, raising close to €1 million overall.
Maureen said: “It reached so far. I've never heard or seen anything reach this far, but I think it's because Ireland is such a big community, we don't even realise it.
“My brother only met people last week in London and they were asking. It turned out they were actually originally from Macroom, and they started on about this little girl from West Cork, and he was like, ‘That's actually my niece’.”
Looking ahead, Maureen sees a future full of exciting possibilities, all underlined with a profound gratitude that her daughter is alive and well. They’re even already planning holidays!
“I don't look at her and be like, ‘Oh, you're in a wheelchair’, or ‘Oh, you can't do this, you can't do that’. It's more, ‘Oh gosh, what will we try and do next?’ or ‘Where can we go from here?’,” Maureen told PJ Coogan.