ieStyle Live: Derval O'Rourke opens up about stepping away from 'Ireland's Fittest Family'
Olympic athlete Derval O’Rourke in conversation with Sonya Lennon at ieStyle Live. Picture: David Creedon
Olympic athlete Derval O’Rourke has spoken about her decision to step away from , named the Cork athletes who inspired her, and explained why she thinks women should give themselves a break.
Speaking at the ’s sold-out ieStyle Live in association with Clarins at Cork City Hall this evening, O’Rourke described the moment she knew she needed to step away from her role as a coach on the hit RTÉ show.
"They don’t give women enough credit for what we do,” she said, to applause from guests.
“The year I decided I needed to step away, the show was at its height. I was standing in a field in Wicklow and it was my daughter’s sixth birthday. All of a sudden it felt too hard. I had this feeling in my gut that I needed to step away. I needed to trust that and walk away.
“I don’t ever regret any of the hard days, whether that’s being an athlete or anything else I’ve done. I always come back to my gut feeling," said O’Rourke.
“Loads of times being a parent, I felt like I was drowning. Being a new parent was the hardest thing I ever did.”
She urged women to “give yourself grace and credit for where you are now because you've done a great job to just be here.”
O’Rourke said she was ambitious from a young age and had many local heroes.
“I had big dreams and I came from a city that encouraged big dreams,” she said, citing Sonia O’Sullivan and Roy Keane as local inspirations in the sporting field.
“I remember meeting Roy Keane and thinking you have to raise the bar. Cork people do things to a high standard and really enjoy it.”
Hundreds of fashionistas descended on Cork City Hall for the most stylish event of the year, MCed by designer duo Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney of Lennon Courtney, along with partners Audi Cork and Malfy Gin.
“We adore this event. We adore you,” Lennon told the packed venue.
“This has been the most exciting 24 hours of our career, we relaunched our label,” Courtney added, ahead of the first catwalk display of their Lennon Courtney range with Kilkenny Design.
Attendees were treated to an evening of dinner and drinks and the night included a fashion show styled by one of the country’s top stylists, Corina Gaffey.
The catwalk saw looks from brands including Brown Thomas, Dunnes Stores, Kildare Village, Opera Lane, Mahon Point, Marks & Spencer, and Samui, as well as Irish designs from Love Cherish, Caroline Kilkenny, Cobblers Lane, Roisin Linnane, and Olori.
Celebrity make-up artist Christine Lucignano, in collaboration with Clarins and hair stylist Pamela Morrissey from Sobe Brown, worked with the models and Gaffey, Lucignano, and Morrissey took to the stage to describe the trends and looks of the evening.
The event supported Breakthrough Cancer Research and CEO Orla Dolan spoke to attendees about the charity’s work on funding research to improve cancer care and outcomes. Dolan shared a photo of her parents with the room, as her father Gerry founded the charity and later was diagnosed with cancer himself.
“One in two of us will develop cancer in our lifetime and in our house — that was my father,” Dolan said.
She said the number of cancer survivors in Ireland is equal to the population of Cork and the research happening in Ireland “sounds like science fiction but I have seen it".
The event coincides with the publication of the autumn/winter edition of ieStyle magazine in this Saturday’s .
