Our grandfather Brendan O’Reilly of Collins Park, Donnycarney passed away on Saturday evening April 25th after his battle with the coronavirus. There isn’t words to describe a loss like this.
He was a resident in a nursing home for the last 6 months and died without his family and friends around him. It’s been difficult for our family knowing how his final few weeks were and that we couldn’t be beside him. Not being able to hold his hand as he always held ours or cheer up him like he always cheered us all up, was devastating.
These are strange times, usually we all come together in sadness but at the moment, while we stay apart, my sister and I would like to do something positive in such a dark time to remember our Granda.
Our Granda spent a lot of his adult life as an active volunteer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and was one of the founding members of SVP Donnycarney.
We’re running 5km a day for the next 5 days in the hope of raising funds in his honour and in lieu of flowers at his funeral this morning to donate to SVP Ireland in his memory, to a cause he held close to his heart. If anyone would like to get involved by donating anything at all, running, walking or even cycling it would mean the world.
For everyone who’s lost their lives and loved ones left behind and people still fighting we are here for you. There is no going back to normal. There’s a new life without them, a darker one but one we can make brighter with love and support.
Tanya and Nicole O Reilly, granddaughters of the late Brendan O’Reilly