Mum of the year stayed strong after child’s death

Mum of the Year Olive Tumulty has ensured her daughter, Katie, who died last year, will never be forgotten.

The mother of three from Maynooth, Co Kildare, was nominated for the title by a friend, who admired how she had stayed so positive and strong after the death of her child.

Four-year-old Katie had been very sick with a mitochondrial disorder — an inherited chronic illness that causes debilitating physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities — that required 24-hour care at home. She also stayed at the Laura Lynn House, Ireland’s first children’s hospice.