"When Anthony Owens lost his first child Arthur shortly before birth, he noticed that women in grief support groups were talkers while men were doers - so, with Féileacáin Fathers, he focused on helping fellow dads remember their babies through physical challenges Losing a loved one is always a traumatic experience, but when a parent loses a child, the grief can be immeasurable, regardless of the circumstances or how long they were on this earth for."
"Recent CSO figures show that 612 children died in Ireland between 2022 and 2023. 363 of those were infants under one, 145 were children aged between one and 14 years and 104 were young people aged between 15 and 18 years."
Anthony Owens lost his first child Arthur shortly before birth and observed that men in grief groups often cope through action rather than talking. He founded Féileacáin Fathers to help bereaved dads remember their babies through shared physical challenges and activities. The approach centers on remembrance through doing, offering practical and communal ways for fathers to process loss. Parental bereavement is profoundly traumatic and can produce immeasurable grief regardless of circumstances or duration of the child's life. National statistics recorded 612 child deaths in Ireland between 2022 and 2023, with detailed age-group breakdowns.
Read at Independent
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