Bereaved Mother Finds Solace in Camino Walk with Other Grieving Parents

In November 2025, Tracey Monaghan, a mother from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, is reflecting on the life-changing impact of a Camino walk she took with other bereaved parents last month. Tracey's 17-year-old daughter, Toni Marie Kenny, died by suicide just days before Christmas 2023, leaving Tracey devastated.

Tracey says that in the aftermath of such a tragic loss, people often avoid conversations about grief, leaving her feeling very much alone. However, the Camino walk organized by the all-island bereavement support group Anam Cara provided Tracey with a rare opportunity to openly share her story and listen to the experiences of others in similar situations.

"You could tell your story and you listened to other stories. We talked the world out of it and even though I was anxious about going, when you heard the stories, you realised you weren't alone," Tracey explains. Despite her daughter's struggles with anxiety and anorexia, Tracey and Toni Marie had been extremely close, and Toni Marie was fiercely independent.

The Camino walk, Tracey says, offered a moving community where people found strength in one another and moments of lightness even in the heaviest grief. Anam Cara is now inviting other parents who have lost children to join them on the Camino next year, providing a rare opportunity to step away from daily life and find hope in shared experiences.