Even in death he was the perfect big brother with his arms wrapped around his little sister
Mother pays tribute to husband and children lost in horror crash
A WOMAN who lost her family in a horror road crash has told how her son had his arms wrapped around his little sister when their bodies were recovered.
Geraldine Mullan recalled in heartbreaking detail her family’s tragic final moments before their car plunged into Lough Foyle in Dongeal last Thursday evening while returning from a family day out.
Her husband John, 49, and children Tomás, 14, and Amelia, 6, died in the tragedy but Ms Mullan managed to escape by clambering on to the roof of the sinking car.
And she revealed how her son had been the perfect big brother to sister Amelia – even in their final moments.
‘Everyone knew Tomás was the perfect big brother and, when the divers found him, he had his arms wrapped around his little sister,’ she told mourners at the funeral for the three victims at St Pius X Church in the seaside town of Moville, Co. Donegal.
She told the packed church of her screams as rescuers battled to save her, pleading with them to ‘let me go so I can be with them’, adding: ‘I was left behind for a reason, but I don’t know what that reason was.’
Mourners wiped away tears as the grieving mother and widow, continued: ‘Go home and hug and kiss your loved ones and tell them how much they mean to you. John did that every morning for me and he will do it again when we are together again.’
She stressed that John could not be blamed for the tragedy.
‘Everything was against us,’ she said. ‘There was a high tide, water on the road, roadworks and slippery road conditions. John was the safest of drivers. There was no speed or no reckless driving.
‘I have no answers, but I can picture that night, second by second. In seconds, our lives changed completely. At 9:30pm on Thursday, August 20, my life was irrevocably changed for the worst.
‘We landed upside down in the water and my dear husband could not get out and was pinned in due to his injuries.’
She paid special tribute to her ‘best friend’ John, explaining that a planned trip to Cape Canaveral in Florida to celebrate his upcoming 50th birthday had been cancelled due to Covid-19, forcing the family to make more humble arrangements.
‘Instead, we had 50 little presents hidden all around the house for him. Now, I have no one to give those presents to, but I will go out to Ballybrack (cemetery) and sing him a happy birthday.’
‘Thanks for minding Amelia, right up to the end,’ she said, looking down on his coffin.
Ms Mullan paid tribute to the emergency services, including Kevin Barr of the RNLI lifeboat.
‘He had a hard job of getting me out of the water. I screamed at him, “Would you let me go so I can be with them”.’
She said she will continue helping the local Moville GAA club every Saturday morning, despite the loss of her children.
Earlier in the day, a funeral cortege carrying the three coffins made the less than one-mile journey from the Mullan family home to the church in glistening sunshine.
Nearby Lough Foyle, which hugs the seaside town, was calm and glass-like, a huge contrast to just a few short days ago when it claimed the lives of the father and two children.
Ms Mullan, 45, supported by two friends, led the procession as it made its way to the church, the heartbroken mother and wife singing loudly the names of her husband and children.
Hundreds of mourners waited at the mouth of the church while the coffins carrying John, Tomás and Amelia were taken in, with Ms Mullan helping to escort each one.
Among those showing their support for the heartbroken family were staff from Letterkenny University Hospital where Ms Mullan worked as a nurse.
Members of Moville GAA club, Moville Sea Scouts, Moville Community College and the local schools also formed a guard of honour at the church.
Parish priest Fr Pat O’Hagan addressed just 50 mourners who were allowed into St Pius X Parish Church because of Covid regulations, while many thousands more either stood outside or watched the heart-wrenching service on a live stream.
Fr O’Hagan told Ms Mullan: ‘There’s been an outpouring of love especially for you, Geraldine, in your loss.
‘If support, sympathy and love could take away your pain, you’d be pain-free.
‘If they could take all this away, we wouldn’t need to be here this morning.
‘But they can’t. And we find ourselves here, doing the last thing we’d want to do, if only we could choose.
‘And we’re here, in this church, offering Mass for John, Tomás and Amelia. And we’re praying with and for Geraldine and all those who feel some of her pain.’
He said the town and community had been overwhelmed with the events of last Thursday which left people reeling with shock and disbelief.
He said there had been a ‘universal’ outpouring of support for Ms Mullan as well as the Mullan and Connaughton families, with messages of support from England,
Italy, Nigeria, Brazil and Australia.
Before the Mass started, Ms Mullan’s father Martin Connuaghton thanked the emergency services and the people of Moville for Ms Mullan in recent days.
He paid tribute to local man Conor McDaid who was first on the scene after witnessing the car going off the road.
He was described as a ‘guardian angel’ who helped to rescue Ms Mullan from the waters of Lough Foyle.
Tributes were then paid to Amelia, Tomás and John by members of both families.
Amelia was described as a ‘wee rascal’ and a ‘wee lady’ who lit up rooms with her bubbly personality.
Tomás was described as a quiet young gentleman who loved music and always looked after his little sister.
John was described as a gentleman who lived most of his life in Moville and as a ‘homebird’ who would do anything for anyone.
Among the gifts brought to the altar included an Our Generation doll and pink CD player for Amelia, an accordion and Harry Potter book for Tomás, and a
‘I was left behind for a reason’ ‘We’ll never move forward alone’
Manchester Utd scarf, family photo and guitar for John.
Mourners wiping away tears were told that the guitar was a birthday present which the family had planned to give John for his 50th birthday in September.
Among the music played was a piece of accordion music recorded by Tomás as part of his homework during lockdown.
In his homily to those gathered both inside and outside, Fr O’Hagan said the readings of the Mass would hopefully make some sense of the ‘horrendous tragedy’.
He added: ‘We will never forget
John, Tomás and Amelia – who they were and what they meant to those of us who were privileged and blessed to know them.
‘We will never forget the events of Thursday night.
‘We will never make sense of them by ourselves. We will never move forward by ourselves.’
Fr O’Hagan remembered the family and how they regularly worshipped at Mass at the St Pius X Church.
‘John, Tomás and Amelia – along with Geraldine – worshipped regularly at Mass here in this church where we’re gathered this morning. For probably four years Tomás was an altar server here – always turned up when he was on rota, quiet and unassuming, but diligent, punctual, ready and willing to do whatever was asked or expected of him. When he left Scoil Eoghain and moved to Moville Community College, he left his altar serving days behind him, and joined his mum and dad and his little sister in the seat where they always sat.’ Mourners were also told: ‘Amelia was a typical girl of her age, sometimes quiet, sometimes – more times – bubbly, always enjoying whatever she was doing.
‘Getting on well in school, making friends, doing the things little girls do, wanting all the pink things little girls want.
‘John met and fell in love with Geraldine when she was nursing his late mother, Philomena, whose 10th anniversary was last Thursday, a date forever etched in the minds and memories of the Mullan family, and now the Connaughton family too.
‘He and Geraldine became devoted not only to each other as husband and wife and as best friends, but to their children, as good, honest, hardworking parents who were bringing their children up and teaching them by their own good example to be people of faith.’
After the funeral mass, the three coffins carrying John, Tomás and Amelia were brought to the nearby Ballybrack Cemetary in Greencastle for burial.
‘Devoted as best friends and parents’