Aimee Brady funeral: Tragic heart condition girl was ‘strong, brave and funny’

Aimee Brady, from Magherafelt, had required constant monitoring and treatment at the Clark Clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children for a complex heart defect.

In August, she and her family made a public appeal for greater awareness of the need for organ donation that captured the hearts of many across Northern Ireland.

Sadly, she passed away in hospital on Wednesday.

She was laid to rest following a moving funeral service at St Swithin’s Parish Church in Magherafelt this afternoon.

Archdeacon of Armagh, Rev Canon Terry Scott told mourners: “Aimee was just 11-years-old. Yet in her short life, despite all its challenges and difficulties, she touched and made a difference to the lives of so many others.

“She was a strong, brave and funny girl, full of life and spirit. She had open heart surgery three times by the age of six, displaying a courage that was an example to us all.

“Though her illness made her weak she, like every other little girl, just wanted to be outside playing with her friends and having fun. Even when she was having a bad day she would put others first.

“She enjoyed playing for hours on end with her dolls and being in the middle of anything that was messy – like baking buns and cakes, making pizzas and playing with slime. She loved football and Formula 1 — an avid Cliftonville supporter she so looked forward to getting to their match each weekend.”

Archdeacon Scott added: “Aimee spent the last nine months of her life in the Clark Clinic, still putting others first by playing with and supporting the other children who came through the clinic’s doors, helping them on their way.

“I know the family wish to thank the doctors and nurses who looked after Aimee throughout her journey – they were quite simply outstanding in the way they cared for her.

“Valerie and Stephen couldn’t have wished for a better daughter – she was amazing, and they and the whole family circle loved her deeply and are rightly so very proud of her.”

After the service, Aimee was buried in Polepatrick Cemetery.