Every Christmas, Mary Tierney’s daughter writes a letter to Santa then reads it aloud to her. This year, the little girl wished for something different from Santa — “Tell Daddy I said hi” and to blow mommy a kiss. For the second year in a row, Mary will spend the holidays without the love of her life, her late husband and former Munster and Ireland scrum-half, Tom Tierney.
At the age of 46, he suddenly passed away in February 2023, leaving behind his loving wife and their two daughters, Isabel and Julia. Nine days after his passing, Mary also lost her dad. Through her grief, she has been sharing her experience on Instagram, a platform which has brought her comfort — and on which she remembers moments shared with her late husband.
After spending 26 years with Tom, she makes sure to remember him every day. “He was our whole lives, he's a massive part of my life. 26 years with someone.
.. For it to just end in an instant, you have to honour that and not just shut it down,” she says.
Even though her husband never really “bought into the idea” of Christmas, the family’s day in Bunratty Castle was his favourite at this time of the year. “We held that tradition with our girls for 12 years, not making it to the unlucky for some 13. We would stroll around the park, me in my element with my mulled wine and Tom with his minced pies before heading to see Santa, who always took time to chat with the girls and shock them by knowing so much about them,” Mary fondly re.
