Irish rugby: The international rugby ‘trailblazer’ and her legacy of cancer awareness

“It’s at the forefront of our minds,” she said. “I think when you are delivering information and awareness, it’s information you’re taking to 20 or 30 girls.”

Jacinta McCool, whose message of early detection of breast or cervical cancer leads to better cure rates, said it was important to raise that awareness.

“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.”

For Gormley, Stewart was a “pioneering” player in her efforts to grow the women’s game.

“Why not celebrate someone from Derry who started the movement in women’s rugby?” she said.

“She started a change for women to play rugby and so we are just marking that at our own club.”

Speaking about the increase of women playing rugby in Northern Ireland, Gormley said she thinks Stewart would not be surprised about the growth.

“She was knocking down doors before people even knew about women’s rugby, these rugby teams are growing really fast and it is a result of decisions she made and took,” she said.