A Donegal father who lost his three children in horrific circumstances recently has shared a message sympathising with those who have lost loved ones during the Covid-19 crisis.
Andrew McGinley has been living in Newcastle, in Dublin, since his kids Carla, 3, Darragh, 7, and Conor, 9, were found dead at the family’s home in January.
Mr McGinley took to Twitter to offer some thoughts in solidarity with the bereaved families.
Mr McGinley said: “When Conor, Darragh and Carla died in January I was carried through by the support of family, community and colleagues.
“Having people around to support helped me cope.
“The amount of people attending the funeral gave me strength to get through the eulogy, funeral and burial.
“I cannot begin to imagine how I would have managed in this time of Covid-19.
“I’m heartbroken by the daily reports of funerals where hundreds would have been there to support the bereaved and to pay their respects.”
Andrew set up a Youtube channel called “Conor’s Clips” to keep the memory of his children alive after they died in January.
Mr McGinley continued: “I have found that celebrating the lives of Conor, Darragh and Carla through Conor’s Clips has helped me.
“If you see me messaging then I’m probably having a bad moment and feel the need to scream and shout about how much I love them and how much I miss them.
“When this period of isolation and social distancing passes then we must take the time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed in the manner that we would that we would have done in normal times.
“My hope is that we take time together after these restrictions finish to mark the deaths of those who have passed and to show their families that we are there for them.”
Last month Mr McGinley asked for people to send him letters as he struggled with coronavirus isolation alone.