Mum of boy who died after being knocked down pledges to continue speed battle

As she prepares to mark the first anniversary of her son Jake’s death, Roseann Brennan said it is something she will never get over.

And while she constantly has to do battle with her immense grief, Roseann takes comfort from the public’s continuing support.

Jake, 6, died after being knocked down by a car outside his house in Kilkenny last year. His mum launched a campaign for the speed limit in housing estates to be reduced from 50km/h to 20km/h and for mandatory speed bumps to be introduced following his death.

“My whole world has changed. My whole opinion on life has changed. But one thing I’ve learned is that there are actually good people out there and that’s what’s gotten me through a bit of the way,” she said, speaking to the Irish Examiner from beside Jake’s well-attended grave.

“People have been so lovely in what they write. You’d be so surprised how the comments help.”

As well as her grief, Roseann said guilt is also an ever-present emotion — guilt that she is alive when Jake isn’t, guilt for pushing her other two children on the swings, guilt for being happy, even for a second.

“It’s so, so tiring grieving all the time and I’m depressed, obviously, and my friends would ask me to go out and for the first 10 months, I didn’t. But then I started going out a bit and I would beat myself up the next day because I went out.

“I was trying to put on a brave face and stay strong and pretend things were OK. But then I did enjoy it a little bit and then the next day I’d be like ‘You enjoyed it, you enjoyed feeling like Rosie again’ and then the guilt. The guilt is one of the worst parts of losing someone. The guilt of being alive.”

As a result of Roseann’s campaign to reduce the speed limit in housing estates, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe unveiled new guidelines for ‘slow zones’ in urban areas that allow local authorities to implement a 30kmh speed limit in residential areas.

“A lot of the county councils are agreeing with us and there are many county councils that have passed Jake’s Law which is to come into legislation this summer. They said ‘We have no problem, we’d do it in the morning’, said a few county councils, but it’s about funding. The €2m the minister put forward isn’t enough. I’ve been haunting him with emails, ringing his office.

“The minister said if there’s more money needed he’ll look into that, and there is more money needed so that’s my next thing for the minister for transport. All the county councils see now that no housing estate should be 50kmh. They’re willing to drop it but it is funding and obviously it is going to have to come from the minister for transport and Enda Kenny, they’re the ones that need to wake up.”

But for the moment, Roseann and her family are focussing on Jake’s anniversary tomorrow and want to celebrate his short but happy life as best they can.

Jake’s school planted a cherry blossom tree on their grounds yesterday in his honour, while the homework club Jake was a part of is holding a surprise event for his family today at 3pm.

Tomorrow, a special Mass will take place in St John’s Church in Kilkenny at 12pm followed by a release of 100 balloons at 6.25pm, the time of the accident. All are welcome to attend.