Ardoyne Rallies Around Beloved Community Worker Annemaria 'Blondy' Gibney

The North Belfast community has shown its immense heart once again, rallying together to raise more than £16,000 for beloved Ardoyne community worker Annemaria Gibney following her diagnosis with a rare, aggressive, and incurable cancer.

Known affectionately across the area as 'Blondy', the 47-year-old mother was diagnosed in March after health checks confirmed the illness had spread to her liver. Doctors have been working tirelessly to give her as much quality time as possible. Annemaria underwent five rounds of intensive chemotherapy before treatment was halted when scans showed the tumour had grown towards her bladder, necessitating a double nephrostomy to support her kidneys.

Throughout her life, Annemaria has been a tireless champion for others, giving more than three decades to youth and community work in Ardoyne. Long before the first ceasefire, she helped build cross-community connections through the Shankill-based Higher Force Challenge programme. Her passion for helping others led her to Challenge for Youth and extensive outdoor pursuits, including 21 days surviving in the Scottish Highlands with Outward Bound. Her adventurous spirit also took her as far as Namibia, where she spent three months volunteering to build schools and assist local Bushmen receiving vital eyesight treatment.

Seeing her faced with this heartbreaking diagnosis, close friend Marty Wilson launched an online appeal to ease the financial pressure on Annemaria and her household. Having lost her father to cancer, and with her mother also having lost a brother to the disease, Annemaria lives with her mother and has raised her three children in the family home. One of her greatest worries was leaving her family with the burden of funeral costs, particularly as she looks out for her 12-year-old daughter.

True to form, Annemaria's trademark humour and warmth have shone through the darkest moments. Despite having to adapt to medical bags following her double nephrostomy, the self-described lifelong tomboy joked that for someone who could never stand handbags, she had somehow ended up with three. With doctors unable to even put an exact medical name to her rare condition, she jokingly dubbed it the 'B1 strain' and insisted it should be named after her.

As donations continue to pour in from across the community, Annemaria expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of solidarity. Reflecting on her journey, she shared how blessed she feels to have climbed mountains, volunteered across the world, supported local young people, and above all, become a mother. While facing an outcome completely out of her hands, she remains determined to make every moment count by laughing, loving those around her, and staying true to the vibrant spirit North Belfast knows so well.