A Derry musician who lost his son in a road traffic collision has created a tribute album to honour children and young people who have died on Irish and Northern Irish roads.
Launching tonight at the Everglades Hotel in Derry City, 'Our Song' was produced by Eamonn Karran, whose 18-year-old son Noah died in a road crash in nearby Claudy on 12 September last year.
Speaking to RTÉ news, Mr Karran said his "world crashed around him" when his son passed away.
"This time last year we were celebrating Noah going to Germany. He went out to go to his girlfriend's house and tell her what was happening."
"The next morning, he was coming in to open his shop and two minutes from her house, he was killed."
"We got the message at 10.30 that morning, the police came to the door, and my world crashed around me."
The album was recorded and produced in Mr Karran’s recording studio - a repurposed attic space in his Derry home - and features performances by local Northern Irish artists.
It features 15 cover songs, each chosen by families bereaved by road deaths across both Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Every track holds a special meaning connected to a lost loved one. Noah’s song, "Forever Young," performed by Belfast artist John Garrity, was played at his funeral.
Mr Karran hopes the album can play a positive role in the families’ grieving process, just as creating it did for him.
"Everybody has a favourite song, and when someone passes away, that favourite song becomes attached to them.
"Caoimhe thought she was the second Beyonce"
"I just wanted to create something that I could give back to other families, a song that is just for them - so they don’t have to just grieve their loved ones - they can celebrate them," he added.
Marie O’Brien, one of the 15 family members who selected a song for the album, chose Beyonce’s "I Was Here" for her 23-year-old daughter, Caoimhe, who died on the A5 between Derry and Tyrone in 2016.
Hearing her song for the first time ahead of the album’s launch - Ms. O’Brien said the album will help to keep her daughter’s memory alive.
"Caoimhe thought she was the second Beyonce," she said.
"Everything she’d done, she’d left her mark. Everywhere she went, she’d left her mark. That was her personality.
"That’s really what Caoimhe would have wanted, ‘I was here’, not to be forgotten," she added.
All proceeds from the album will go toward Road Victim Support Northern Ireland-Donegal, a family-led charity founded in December 2024.
The organisation provides emotional and practical support to individuals and families affected by road traffic collisions, including counselling, peer support groups and assistance with legal and financial matters.
In addition, they also advocate for improved road safety and support systems for bereaved families.
Mr Karran became involved with RVSNID after he and his wife Joanne received counselling from the charity's chairperson Debbie Mullan.
Ms Mullan lost her own son, Keelan, in 2013 following a crash in Limavady, Co Derry.
Her sister and charity secretary Keria Mullan-Logan said the group, made up of bereaved families, are driven by desire to ensure no one "has to face this kind of loss alone".
"When a road traffic collision occurs, we either get contacted by the families involved or by their family liaison officers. Our amazing volunteers then go out and visit the families, assessing their individual needs. Debbie then arranges packages of care, which might include bereavement and trauma counseling, peer support, and listening support," she said.
"All our volunteers are fully trained in safeTALK, Mental Health First Aid, and Listening Support. We also have volunteers across Northern Ireland, one in each council area."
"This way, if a family is suffering, there’s someone local, someone who understands because they’ve been there, but also someone who is trained to help."
Ms Mullan-Logan added that the self-funded charity has been "blown away" by the progress they have made after just ten months.
"It's a story of people suffering unbearable loss and trauma, and despite that, coming together to turn that grief into positive action.
"And we just wanting to reiterate that we are here, we are standing with you, we all have been impacted very similar to you, so please reach out - we are here to support," she said.
"This grief is never going to go away; there is always going to be this pain - but this charity, this album, has helped us all cope"
Mr Karran and Ms O'Brien serve as the charity’s Treasurer and Vice-Chairperson respectively, and both say their time with the charity has saved their lives.
For Mr Karran, who now runs a ‘Men’s Time to Talk’ group within the charity, giving back has been an integral part of his healing process.
"The charity is made up of brilliant people, the best in the world, and in our own ways we are all making change - and when we get together for meetings, it's powerful," he said.
"This grief is never going to go away; there is always going to be this pain - but this charity, this album, has helped us all cope.
"And I genuinely say this, heart and soul, I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for Road Victim Support Northern Ireland-Donegal."
Road Victim Support Northern Ireland-Donegal can be contacted by phone at 07774 857058 or via email at rvsni@outlook.com.
