Charity lifeline for Dublin couple who lost two-year-old son

A Dublin mother whose toddler son died in his sleep has told how a charity gave her family a lifeline by connecting her with other bereaved parents.

Rosemarie Gannon is preparing for her 11th Christmas without her two-year-old son, Eoin.

The toddler never woke up after she put him up to bed on November 3, 2014.

A few nights earlier, Eoin (pictured above) had enjoyed an evening of Halloween trick or treating with his siblings in the Templeogue estate where they still live.

“Nobody prepares you for a trauma such as the death of a child,” said Dr Gannon, who runs a space research project at UCD.

“You’re not taught this in school – you have to navigate it yourself.”

The Dublin mother said the festive season is one of the most difficult periods of the year for anyone who has lost a loved one – and is urging the public to support the Lights of Love campaign by all-island bereavement support group, Anam Cara.

People can donate a light of remembrance on a virtual Christmas tree for a loved one, allowing the charity to ensure bereaved parents in Ireland do not grieve alone.

The lives of Rosemarie, her husband Joe and their three children Ronan, now 18, Clodagh, 16, and Maeve, 14, changed forever with Eoin’s sudden and unexplained death.

Plunged into grief, the couple turned to Anam Cara and attended bereavement support meetings for parents who had lost children.

“Anam Cara helps you connect with others who have shared that journey,” said Dr Gannon.

“Our son died so close to Christmas – we had three other children for Santa.

“It brought up questions around how you navigate your first Christmas.”

A year after Eoin’s death, the Gannons welcomed another child, Róisín, now 10, into their family.

“As the years have gone on, I feel Eoin has given me strength. It was the worst thing that could have happened.

For me, Eoin’s legacy is he’s given me courage and helped me to step outside of my comfort zone,” said Dr Gannon.

“One of the hardest things when you lose a child is that you always want them in your life and want to remember them. But how do you remember them when they are no longer there?

“I think there’s a lot of pressure at Christmas to be happy and to have the perfect Christmas.

“That’s why the Anam Cara campaign is so important.

“It gives people a space to acknowledge their child and their sadness.

“There are so few places to do that.”

Anam Cara CEO, Michelle Reynolds, said that when bereaved relatives and members of the public donate a Light of Love on the Anam Cara virtual Christmas tree, they are not only remembering a loved one, but helping to ensure that no parent in Ireland has to grieve alone.

To donate today, see: https://visufund.com/anam-cara-lights-of-love-2025