Derry family fundraising for Kevin Bell Trust after dad dies on holidays

Kevin was on holidays with his wife Mary and their friends when he suffered what is thought to be a cardiac arrest. He was taken to hospital where he died shortly after. His family are organising an evening in the Halfway House, Burnfoot to celebrate their daddy’s life and to raise money to help other families who find themselves in a similar situation.

Kevin’s daughter Hannah said: “Daddy was away in Spain with my mammy and six other couples and it was very sudden. I remember that night, my godmother who wasn’t on the holiday, called me tell me she would be up to me shortly. I rang my sister Sarah and told her to phone mammy or daddy because something had happened on holiday and I knew that no one would tell me on the phone. We found out that my daddy was in hospital so I tried to phone my sister Sharon, but she didn’t answer so I sent a text to ask her to ring me back. By the time she called, daddy had passed away. It all happened very quickly.

"We don’t actually know how daddy died. For me, from a nursing point of view, I know he had a cardiac arrest. The autopsy in Spain came back inconclusive and we were asked if we would like to give a more thorough one when we got him back to Dublin but at that point we just wanted him home.

"It took two whole weeks from daddy passed until his funeral so it was a very long process. Luckily, my parents had travel insurance so when I rang Colm from the Kevin Bell Trust, he told me we actually didn’t need their services but he was so helpful with giving us information and we knew we could call him if we needed anything.”

"I first heard of the Kevin Bell Trust when I was in university in Manchester and it just came up randomly on my Facebook. I thought it was a really important charity. I don’t think people know much about the trust until they need it or someone they know needs it. Even in my family, I don’t think anyone knew about it apart from me. People also think that it’s government funded but they heavily relay on public donations.

"We’re so lucky that they had insurance but not everyone else does. I know myself that I’ve gone on holidays before without insurance. I now live in Australia so it’s something that I’m a lot more aware of now too.

“Every time we thought we were getting one step closer to getting daddy home, it felt like something else came up. There was so many things to think about, like the funeral director mentioned repatriating my daddy through Dublin instead of Belfast because it’s still in the EU. Those are things we never even considered. During the two weeks before the wake, it felt like such a long time. People were still coming to see us at the house but after the funeral, it all got so quiet. It was the fastest and longest two weeks of my life waiting for him to come home.”

Kevin was a proud Derry man, who grew up in the Brandywell and Hannah says he was such a ‘kind’ and ‘generous’ man.

"Daddy was one of the nicest, most genuine people ever. He had relationships with all his nieces and nephews and everyone loved ‘Uncle Kevin’. Daddy was a mechanic and we had so many people coming to us during the wake to tell us how he was the best in the business. I could talk about him all day long.

"He seemed to be everyone’s favourite person. He was so funny and was just the life and soul of the party. My friends would always be so disappointed if he wasn’t there when they came to visit. People were coming to us at the wake and tell us he was an amazing man. We heard so many great stories about him.”

The family’s fundraiser will be held in the Halfway House in Burnfoot on Friday, May 19. Entertainers include Mickey Doherty, Michelle McColgan and a DJ and there will be a raffle on the night too. Anyone who is unable to attend can donate online at www.gofundme.com/f/kevin-lyttle.