I’m heartbroken for the family of little Hannah
Mother shares her anguish after losing Avery, 3, in pool tragedy
THE mother of tragic Cork tot Avery Greene has said she is “heartbroken” for the family of little Hannah Kealy, describing their journey ahead as “a hard road”.
Next month, on August 12, it will be three years since Amanda Cambridge’s toddler Avery, aged three, wandered out of their Alicante holiday apartment and down to the complex swimming pool and drowned.
The terrible tragedy of two-yearold Hannah Kealy’s death last weekend after she died in a paddling pool tragedy in Timahoe, Co Laois, was a stark reminder of the ongoing dangers.
Amanda, 40, who lives in Mallow with husband Eric and daughters Lucia, 11 and Robyn, nine, said: “It’s a very hard road – you’re not supposed to bury your children.
“I lost Avery in 2019 but poor Hannah’s family has only just started.
“My heart absolutely breaks for them and I want to send them much love and condolences.
“We don’t have our children to bury them. I still have selfquestioning and a lot of blame and a lot of guilt.”
Amanda and the three children were 10 days into a three-week holiday when tragedy struck on the same day dad Eric, who works in a garage, was due to fly in from Cork. “We were doing the normal things that we did every day,” remembered dental nurse and care assistant Amanda.
“Avery lay on the couch with his blankies and his bottle watching TV while we made breakfast and I cleaned up.
“I was cleaning out the bathroom and when I came out all that was left was his blankie and a bottle on the couch.
“I ran outside and a neighbour asked me ‘did you hear?’ and said, “There’s a baby in the pool’.
“Every bone in my body knew it was Avery.”
She acknowledges the relentless guilt that comes with drowning tragedies, particularly those involving children.
“I self-flagellated with the ‘what if’s’, desperately wondering why didn’t I do this or that, maybe it wouldn’t have happened if I did this.
“Why didn’t I lay down on the couch and watch Paw Patrol with him that morning and forget about the bathroom?
“I’m his mother, supposed to be minding him but I was the one who closed the door but I never locked the door.” The family stayed in Spain for 10 days while the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust arranged for Avery’s body to be taken home to Ireland.
Amanda added: “I never in my life imagined I’d have to bury one of my children – never, ever, ever.
“Our world fell apart but people still got up in the morning and the girls needed to be fed and the mortgage needed to be paid.
“I found myself in a silent house with dark thoughts and dark memories.
“I had days I didn’t want to get out of bed and locked the doors and closed the blinds and shut the world out, but that’s no way to live with two girls.”
Amanda champions Hold Hands – a Water Safety Ireland campaign inspired by Avery to keep kids safe near water at home, on farms, at near rivers and on
It is a very hard road, you are not supposed to bury your children AMANDA CAMBRIDGE RECALLS TRAGIC DAY
the beach, holiday.
She said: “Hold Hands is a lovely legacy for Avery and for little boys and girls to get to know him and what he represents – knowledge, fun and respect near water.
“Children that age can be very adventurous and don’t see danger – they see the splashing and the fun and the laughter and excitement.”