Geraldine Mullan pays tribute to late husband and children on fourth anniversary

Geraldine Mullan, who lost her husband and two children in a road crash in Donegal, has paid tribute to her family on the fourth anniversary of their deaths.

Geraldine - originally from Williamstown, Galway - was the sole survivor as she lost her son Tomás (14), daughter Amelia (6) and husband John (49), when the car all four were travelling were in an accident at Lough Foyle on the evening of August 20, 2020. The family had been returning home to Moville from a day out when the tragedy occurred.

Geraldine has since founded the Mullan Hope Centre in loving memory of her family, with events like a memorial 5km fun run/walk in memory of her son Tomás in Moville, on what have been his 18th birthday in April, with proceeds going to Children in Crossfire in April, and Amelia Flight of Hope Festival, which took place on October of last year, on Amelia's 1-th birthday. 

"’They say time is a healer’ - it’s a phrase/quote I’ve heard many times over these past four years, but not one I would agree with,” Geraldine posted on Facebook on Tuesday. “Today marks the fourth anniversary of losing my beloved John Tomás and Amelia and my heart aches just as much today as it did from the start and I know it will always ache with every heartbeat.

“As I’ve navigated my grief journey, I’ve learned it’s having good friends and family around me that have propped me up when I needed it most, held my hand, dried my tears, sat with me in silence and let me be me, whatever that may be with no judgement. There’s no right or wrong way to deal with grief

“There’s no set path, it's just a day at a time, sometimes hour by hour, and on days like today especially it’s moment to moment and simply putting one foot in front of the other and just breathe. The pain and heartache never go away. It becomes part of who I am, and I will never get over it, I will just learn to live with it over time.

“Life goes on, and as a good friend told me last night, life is for living and my beloved John, Tomás and Amelia would want me to live life to the fullest. This past weekend, I took part in the Extreme North Quadrathon – four half marathons over four consecutive days over different parts of the Inishowen peninsula.

“It was a combination of walking and running the 13.1 miles for the four days and simply putting one foot in front of the other (kinda like what I’ve been doing these past four years). There were times I wanted to stop/ give up because it was just too much, very much like my grief journey these past four years, but I didn’t.

“I just took it one step at a time. As I crossed that finish line on Sunday afternoon, I was doing it in their memory as everything I do now is for the four of us but also for myself like they’d want me to.

“Today I walked the Stairway to Heaven boardwalk for the four of us (what we were supposed to do on 20th August 2020) and at the top, I remembered your words Amelia about the four corners of my heart and how you, Daddy and TT are in three corners so I placed my hand over my heart and held you all close. Wrap your arms around me from heaven above and continue to be by my side and in my heart. All my love. Mummy/your Galway girl, aka Geraldine ❤️”