Husband of late author Emma Hannigan’s emotional tribute to ‘soulmate’

"I would need her wonderful gift with words to tell you just how much I will miss her."

Emma Hannigan's husband has paid an emotional tribute to his "wife and soul mate" after she passed away. The Wicklow mum-of-two, who had cancer 10 times throughout her life, revealed that she was losing her battle in an open letter to her fans on her official Facebook page last month. Following her death on Saturday, her husband Cian shared a heartbreaking tribute to his wife, who he said "left a trail of glitter and joy throughout her life." Writing on her official Facebook page, he began by recalling how she  "bravely fought a battle against a foe with no mercy". He continued:

"Emma was the epitome of strength, love and generosity, beyond anything I have ever known. "She loved her family, loved her friends, and she left a trail of glitter and joy throughout her life… with of course added tinsel at Christmas. "She was my wife and soul mate. Mother of my beautiful children. A friend to many and an inspiration to thousands. "[She was] a loving daughter, devoted mother, best selling author, fundraiser, public speaker, chef, and shopaholic.  "She was my guiding star and my hug to say everything would be ok. "But mostly she was just my Emma, and I would need her wonderful gift with words to tell you just how much I will miss her."

  After she shared the open letter with fans last month, Ms Hannigan launched a fundraising campaign with Breast Cancer Ireland, which she was an ambassador for. The goal for the campaign was €100,000, which was reached within a few days. Following the news of the campaign reaching its target, Emma said:

“It’s never too late to dream big, keep dreaming. “Thank you so much, please keep those donations coming and don’t stop until we reach the top.”

She was also the inspiration behind a second campaign, which had the goal to get her final novel, Letters to my Daughters, to number one on the charts. Last week, Dubray Books tweeted that 'Letters To My Daughters' had made it to the top of the bestsellers list. They said: https://twitter.com/DubrayBooks/status/965902876047544320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.her.ie%2Fnews%2Femma-hannigans-letters-daughters-reaches-no-1-book-charts-390116 The store also announced that they will be donating all of their profits from the book to Breast Cancer Ireland which Hannigan is an ambassador for.