Bereaved mum encourages parents to attend Roscommon remembrance event
Michelle Halpin and her late 16-year-old daughter, Molly.
A bereaved mother is encouraging other parents who have lost children to join an upcoming remembrance day event in County Roscommon to honour their memory.
Michelle Halpin’s 16-year-old daughter Molly died of a rare soft tissue cancer in 2024, devastating her, husband Austin and Molly’s sibling Eve, now 21.
“Molly dealt with her illness like she did with everything: without a fuss. She never wanted pity; she just wanted to live her life. She loved her friends, her big sister and going out,” said her mum, from Cabinteely in Dublin.
She is reminding families who have experienced the loss of a child that they do not have to grieve alone and encourages them to join one of two remembrance events in Roscommon and Kerry, organised by bereavement charity, Anam Cara.
The first takes place in the Hodson Bay Hotel this Sunday, November 8th, while the second is planned for the Tralee Bay Wetlands Eco and Activity Park on November 15th.
After her daughter died, Ms Halpin had the feeling of her social circle shrinking as some people could not deal with the enormity of her loss.
“Life now is about being in a safe place with safe people. When you lose a child, you realise who those people and places are,” she said.
“A huge part of what hurts my heart is that Molly didn’t get to live and she was such a life-loving girl and she fitted in to her 16 years more than many do in their entire lifetimes.” Ms Halpin explained that her bright and popular daughter, a pupil of Dominican College in Sion Hill, was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in May 2022, at the age of 14.
While the cancer responded well to a very aggressive treatment regime, scans in 2023 showed devastating results. The family sought second and third opinions with the support of Molly’s doctors, but results all confirmed that any treatment options would only buy time.
Her mother described a fun-loving teenager who, despite her illness, was looking forward to a Taylor Swift in concert in the summer of 2024, but her life was cut short and she died on March 21.
Ms Halpin described going to Anam Cara support meetings for bereaved parents as a safe space where she could talk about her grief.
“Anam Cara provides that space of being with other people where I can talk about my loss, my coping, my Molly. I feel Molly deserves to be remembered, and I will go anywhere that will remember her,” she added.
Anam Cara CEO, Michelle Reynolds, said that when a child dies, all the love a parent has for them remains.
“The longing to speak their name, share their stories and keep their memory alive is part of that love. Our Remembrance Days are about creating a space where families can do just that, surrounded by people who understand,” she said.
“They are days filled with emotion, but also with love, connection and the comfort of knowing that their precious children are remembered, not just by their own families, but by a community who honours them too.”
*To register to attend the free Anam Cara remembrance events in Athlone and Tralee, see: www.eventbrite.com/e/anam-cara-national-family-remembrance-day-tickets-2002943083681?aff=oddtdtcreator and www.eventbrite.com/e/anam-cara-munster-families-remembrance-day-tickets-2002947252149?aff=oddtdtcreator
