THEY DIED IN EACH OTHER’S ARMS
Heartbroken mum tells of siblings’ bond
DEVASTATED widow Geraldine Mullan embraced her children’s coffins yesterday as she revealed the death-defying bond between them.
The nurse, who also lost husband John, 49, in a freak car crash in Co Donegal last Thursday, told mourners divers in Lough Foyle found their son Tomas’ arms wrapped around his little sister Amelia, six.
As she looked at the 14-year-old’s coffin she told the heartbreaking triple funeral in Moville: “Thanks for minding Amelia, right up to the end.”
THE distraught mum whose family was wiped out in a horrific car crash told mourners divers found her son with his arms wrapped around the body of his little sister.
Relatives and friends outside St Pius X Church in the town of Moville in Co Donegal wiped tears from their faces as Geraldine Mullan said a heartbreaking farewell to her loved ones.
The freak crash killed her husband John, 49, son Tomas, 14, and six-yearold daughter Amelia when their car plunged into Lough Foyle last Thursday after a day out in Derry.
Geraldine, who managed to escape the tragedy, thanked all those who had comforted her in recent days but ultimately paid tribute to the three most important people in her life.
She told mourners: “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.” Mrs Mullan recalled the moments when her life changed forever but stressed there was no way John could be blamed for the tragedy.
She said: “Everything was against us. 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 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.”
She also revealed how her son had been the perfect big brother to sister
Amelia – even in their final moments. The mum said: “Everyone knew Tomas was the perfect big brother and, when the divers found him, he had his arms wrapped around his little sister.
“Thanks for minding Amelia, right up to the end,” she said, looking down on his coffin.
Mrs Mullan paid a special tribute to her husband, whom she described as her best friend.
She said he would have celebrated his 50th birthday in two weeks.
It was always his dream to go to Cape Canaveral in America, as he loved space travel, but due to the pandemic it wasn’t possible.
Mrs Mullan said: “Instead, we had 50 little presents hidden all around the house for him. Now, I have no one to
GERADLINE MULLAN CO DONEGAL YESTERDAY
give those presents to, but I will go to Ballybrack [cemetery] and sing him a happy birthday.”
The heartbroken mum paid tribute to the emergency services, including Kevin Barr of the RNLI lifeboat.
She said: “He had a hard job of getting me out of the water and I screamed at him, ‘Would you let me go so I can be with them’. I was left behind for a reason, but I don’t know what that reason was.”
The 45-year-old, supported by two friends, led the cortege as it made its way to the church while singing loudly the names of her husband and children.
Hundreds of mourners waited at the church.
Among those showing their support were staff from Letterkenny University Hospital where Geraldine worked as a cancer care nurse.
Members of Moville GAA club, Moville Sea Scouts, Moville Community College and the local schools also formed a guard of honour. Parish priest Fr Pat O’hagan said there had been a “universal” outpouring of support for Geraldine as well as the Mullan and Connaughton families with messages of support from England, Italy, Nigeria, Brazil and Australia.
Geraldine’s father Martin Connaughton paid a special tribute to local man Conor Mcdaid, who was described as a “guardian angel” who helped to rescue Geraldine from the water.
Tributes were then paid to Amelia, Tomas and John by both families.
Amelia was described as a “wee rascal” and a “wee lady” who lit up rooms with her bubbly personality.
Tomas was characterised as a quiet young man who loved music and who always looked after his little sister and was her knight in shining armour.
Dad John was described as a gentleman who lived most of his life in Moville and was a real “homebird” who would do anything for anyone. Mourners, wiping away tears, were
told a guitar brought to the altar was a birthday present which Geraldine, Tomas and Amelia had planned to give John for his 50th birthday in September.
Fr O’hagan said: “We will never forget John, Tomas 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. “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 and Connaughton family too.”
After the funeral Mass, the three coffins were brought to the nearby Ballybrack Cemetary in Greencastle for burial.