[ad_1]
In the space of a few moments, Geraldine Mullan experienced a loss that few of us could imagine even in our darkest moments.
She will spend this Christmas without her husband and two beloved children. The beautiful home they shared in Moville, Co Donegal, has no Christmas decorations, no Christmas tree, and no presents.
“I know that Christmas and New Years are going to be very difficult because Christmas would have been something important in our house,” he told Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ’s Prime Time.
“I don’t have any Christmas presents to wrap for John, Tomás and Amelia this year and that’s very difficult for me, but I’ll still get through Christmas. It’s going to be another day without them.
On August 20, Geraldine was the only member of her family to survive when the car they were traveling in crashed into Lough Foyle at Quigley’s Point. Her husband John, son Tomás, 14, and daughter Amelia, 6, died.
The family had enjoyed a day together before the children returned to school. They had seen a movie and bowled. Geraldine said that the memories of that day now give her great comfort.
“I didn’t know that that day would have been our last, but it wouldn’t have changed a thing about that day and the way we spent it, because we spent it as a family. It was full of love. It was … it was It was full of fun. It was full of smiles. And that’s what I try to remember: the smiles that John, Tomás and Amelia had that day and the laughs that we had. It was heartwarming that we were able to spend that day together. “
That night, as they traveled home, his life changed forever. As the year draws to a close, Geraldine wants to publicly thank all those who have supported her since that tragic night, and especially the emergency services who worked so hard to rescue her from the water and bring back the bodies of her loved ones. . to her.
“The fact that I was able to see them, to be able to kiss them one more time, to have to say goodbye to them,” she said, meant everything to her.
“I know they’re not here with me anymore. And you know, I know, when it’s my time to go, I know they’ll be there waiting for me. So for now, it’s just goodbye. So it was very important that I was able to see and hold them. for the last time “.
He wants to thank all the emergency services that were there that night, many of whom were locals that Geraldine recognized.
“Charlene Anderson, the duty sergeant, was phenomenal that night. No one should have to break the news to anyone that they have lost their entire family. And she had to break the news that the bodies of John, Tomás and Amelia, “he said.
“She was so compassionate, so professional, while managing all the emergency services on site.”
She is particularly grateful to Kevin Barr of the Irish Coast Guard, who stayed with her in the water while the team tried to rescue her. He clung to her even as she begged him to let her go.
“I had lost all hope at the time,” he said. “I knew my family was gone and I just wanted to be with them. And I did. I asked him a couple of times to let me go. And, you know, Kevin was very brave. He grabbed me and kept apologizing because he knew that. they too were gone. ”
“And he just said, I’m so sorry, Geraldine, I can’t let you go. You know? And me, I’m here today because of Kevin and the work of all those people who worked so hard that night to get me out of the water. That’s why my father, you know, he referred to all of them in unison as my guardian angels. “
As Geraldine faces her first Christmas without her beloved John, Tomás and Amelia, she hopes that other families will realize how precious life is and take the time to tell their loved ones how much they love them this Christmas.
“I can’t turn back the clock. I wish it was August 19 and things were different, but I can’t change what happened on August 20, but in some small way, especially now that we’re getting to this. Holiday season, my Christmas gift for John, Tomás and Amelia is that more children receive hugs and kisses from their moms and dads, “he said.
He said that more people should tell their loved ones that they love each other.
“I didn’t know that August 20 was going to be the last day I could tell John, Tomás and Amelia that I loved them. So my message is simple: remember how precious life is, appreciate every moment and tell them I love them. you love them “.
Watch Geraldine share her story in primetime tonight on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9:35 pm.
[ad_2]