Aaron Deery football tournament in memory of Derry road accident victim to raise funds for Life After

Aaron Deery, from Sandale Park, was just 27-years-old when he was killed in a road traffic collision involving two vehicles, near Ardee, on July 22, 2022.

This Saturday, the Aaron Deery Memorial Football Tournament at the Bay Road Soccer Centre will honour his memory while also raising funds for Life After, a local charity that delivers support services to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives on the roads.

Aaron’s heart-broken mother Maureen recalls going through every parent’s worst nightmare when she received the terrible news of the road accident early that Friday morning two summers ago.

“He was involved in a road accident coming from his work in Dublin, two years coming in July,” she says.

"He had done four night duties in Dublin and they would always have come up the road on a Friday morning… Aaron was killed in the accident as he was the front seat passenger and it was the passenger side that got the impact,” she says.

The collision occurred on the N33 between Dunleer and Ardee.

Life After has provided invaluable support to Maureen as she has sought to come to terms with Aaron’s death.

“I have benefitted. Nobody understood what I was going through apart from Life After because everybody in the group has lost somebody to the roads.

"That's why I've decided to give something back by doing this,” she says.

Ten teams have already signed up for the competition which kicks-off at the Bay Road Soccer Centre at 1pm.

This will be followed by a presentation in the Rocking Chair Bar in Waterloo Street at 8.30pm.

Maureen is encouraging people to support the work of Life After which is solely funded by families raising money through charity events.

"They don't receive funding from anywhere else,” she says.

"They travel all over Northern Ireland and they have now started going into the south.

"They visit families in their homes. They offer free counselling.

"They have support meetings once a month all over Northern Ireland. They are doing this in there own time.

"They have a memorial event in the Guildhall every year for all the families affected by road deaths,” adds Maureen.

Businesses and sponsors have been very supportive of this weekend’s memorial event, she confides.

"The businesses in this town have been fantastic.

"The vouchers I have been given for the draw have been wonderful. I must have 40 brilliant prizes. Lots of big prizes that were provided by businesses in the town.

"There is one thing about people in Derry - they really rally around when people need support.”

Life After is a charity based in Northern Ireland that delivers support services to family and friends of those who have lost their lives through a road traffic collision.

It also aims to raise awareness of road safety and driver responsibility.​

For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/LifeAfterrtc/