A HUSBAND AND WIFE from Co. Cork passed away "within minutes" of each other after simultaneously losing their battles with cancer.
Tom and Mary Forbes had been married for 32 years and relatives of theirs said that it was "meant to be" after the pair died just 40 minutes apart on Saturday.
The couple were laid to rest in Drimoleague on Monday, according to echo live.ie.
Mary had been battling cancer since her diagnosis in 2016, while her husband Tom discovered that he was suffering from the disease in December last year.
Relatives of the couple spoke of how the entire family pulled together to try and help, with many giving plenty of praise to Mary in the face of such hardship.
"Mary rallied and rallied," said her brother-in-law Richie Fitzgerald.
“She had been diagnosed with cancer before but this was a short battle. In the end, they both died in their sleep within 40 mins of one another. We’re not sure if that was meant to be, but it looked that way.”
Richie then spoke very highly of the couple's twin boys, Niall and Paul.
“Mary and Tom were very proud of them and it was the boys who looked after them in the end,” he said.
There were plans in place for Mary and Tom to move into a house right next to their son Paul's, but unfortunately, the disease quickly caught up with the couple.
With the inevitable approaching, Mary was being treated at a hospital in Cork, and preparations were being made for her to die there, but with her husband being treated in Bantry, she was taken across the county to be close to her partner.
“Mary was initially supposed to die in Marymount and preparations were being made for that, but she was taken from Cork University Hospital to Bantry so she could be close to Tom," said Richie.
