Tragic suicide mum Lorraine Gallagher said she is determined to make the best of this Christmas for her two boys.
The late Erin and Shannon Gallagher
The Ballybofey woman couldn’t bring herself to enjoy the festive season last year after the tragic loss of daughters Erin, 13 and Shannon, 15.
Erin took her own life in October, 2012 amidst claims that she was being bullied online while Shannon ended her life just six weeks later.
Lorraine, 37, said both girls just adored Christmas but she could not bring herself to celebrate it last year.
“Everything was just too raw and emotional for me. Christmas was the last thing on my mind to be honest.
“The girls, like all girls their age, absolutely loved Christmas and the house would have been so busy with all the coming and goings.
“But it was a very quiet Christmas. We did a few bits and pieces for Sean James (her son) but it was just a token gesture,” she said.
This year has brought it’s own different kind of joy for Lorraine with the birth of her second son Lennon in July.
With two boys now in her Ballybofey home, Lorraine says she will try and make it a special Christmas and a real family occasion.
“It will be difficult and the girls will be there in everything we do but I think we have to try and have an ordinary as Christmas as possible.
“It’s only fair to the boys.
“My doctor told me that I cannot live for the dead but I have to live for the living and I am trying so hard to do that.
“We will remember Erin and Shannon in our own special way at Christmas but we also have to make it as special for the boys as well,” she said.
Lorraine said she will also visit the girls’ graves at Christmas.
“We get to the graves as often as we can and we will do so again at Christmas.
“Erin and Shannon will be with us at Christmas. It was such a special time of year for us.
“They doted on Sean James and I know they would have been exactly the same with Lennon.
“I know they would have wanted the boys to have a special time at Christmas and we will try to that for them – to honour their memory,” said Lorraine.