"My children all loved Christmas"
Andrew McGinley has opened up about spending Christmas without his three beloved children.
The dad said Christmas was his children's favourite time of the year, but he is going to try to reclaim it for them.
He wants to honour his kids by finding joy in Christmas again.
Andrew's three children were tragically killed by their mother Deirdre Morley in January 2020.
His children Conor (9) Darragh (7) and Carla (3) were found dead at their family home in Co. Dublin.
Speaking about the Christmases they shared together, Andrew told
The Irish Mirror;
"My children all loved Christmas, as did I. It was a very special and fun time of the year in our household."
Andrew said that Christmas was a "wonderful family occasion" for his family.
He said the day was also full of "laughter and fun".
"But the past two Christmases have been very, very different, and I've just felt lost. The hardest thing in the world is to stand at the graves of your children on Christmas morning."
Andrew said he will always visit his children's graves on Christmas morning.
However, this year he has responded to friends' invites.
"I'll be visiting their graves again on Christmas morning this year, and that'll never change because I'll never stop talking to them.
Christmas will always be a difficult time for Andrew after suffering such a harrowing loss, but he wants to spend time with his loved ones this year.
"Christmas was also a time of year that the children adored, and so I'm going to reclaim it for them.
"I'm doing things I wouldn't have done last year, like accepting any invitations I get from people to events and get-togethers, and getting out there and mixing more. I'm just trying my best to enjoy it."
