On March 13th 2018, my family were dealt with the devastating news that my lovely Dad Dixie Comerford collapsed and died while in Manchester with my Mam.  A day that started out with so much excitment as Dad was finally getting to see his beloved Manchester United play in Old Trafford in a champions league game.  Many people have told us "ah well for Dixie it was a great place to go" and maybe with time we will feel that way too but not just yet.  On the 14th of March, my Mam had to return home to Kilkenny and leave her husband of 44 years behind accompanied by Dad's sister Jackie and my brother Richie.  As Dad died in another country we did not have the opportunity to wake Dad as is the Irish tradition. 

Over the coming days and week, so many people called to the house to offer their condolences and the question of when would Dixie's funeral take place? In the first week following Dad's death we looked at them blankly as we had no idea.   As many of you know, organising a funeral is never pleasant, organising a funeral when you still cannot get your head to accept that the person you love is gone, is devastating now add organising a funeral when you are dealing with a coroner in a foreign country, foreign embassies and airlines, now you are in a Nightmare.    We contacted the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and gave them all the information with regard to my Dad.  That was it, they dealt with the funeral directors here back home and took over everything from there.  Once my sister and my aunt had flown to Manchester to collect Dad's death cert, the KBRT team took over everything.  Daddy came home to us on the 24th of March.  

I am a runner, I love it, I am not the fastest and there is absolutely no chance I am going to win the Dublin City Marathon :).  This year on the 28th of October, I am going to run my best marathon (maybe not my best time) because I am running in in memory of my Dad and in gratitude to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust for binging Daddy back home to us.   There are so many well deserving charities out there and I know that, but if you can please donate to this great charity. They are 100% reliant on fundraisers and general goodwill.  Your donation means that when another family are swept up in the nightmare of pure heartbreak and feeling completely lost about how to repatriate a loved one, the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust can be a flicker of light for them in their darkest hours.  My family and I will always be in gratitude to this organisation.  (Doing this for you Pops.. love tiny tears)