The bereaved relatives of an Irish four-year-old who perished in an incident mere hours after landing for a vacation in Tenerife have collected thousands in his honour as they celebrate the existence of “the happiest young boy”, reports The Mirror.
Edward Massey, who would have celebrated his fifth birthday today, lost his life on the Spanish island in May 2025 during a heartbreaking mishap with a swimming pool, shattering the world of his parents Joanne and Richard along with his devoted elder sister Victoria.
Joanne shared that their existence will be forever altered, yet she finds comfort in the certainty that Edward enjoyed a joyful life and was always beaming with a wide grin, reports The Mirror.
The Co Down woman, said: “When you have young children, you worry about them constantly, keeping them safe and away from danger. We never imagined that we could lose our little boy like that. It has destroyed our lives. I am just glad to know during the four years that he was with us, Edward was the happiest wee boy,” reports The Mirror.
“He just loved everyone that he met, always had a beautiful smile on his face and wanted to take part in everything that he could. If it was in God’s plan for Edward to be taken from us, God made sure that he had the happiest time on this earth,” reports The Mirror.
Edward’s loved ones will convene at his cherished spot, Global Adventures, to honour him today. Joanne mentioned that a beloved saying of hers, “in laughter and fun, we will remember his love,” has offered her strength. The family is fundraising for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which aided them during their ordeal, reports The Mirror.
Joanne said: “The day after Edward turned four, he was looking forward to his next birthday. He just had so much fun and knew whenever he turned five; he would be able to join the Boys Brigade. We felt that it was important for us to still gather this year on his birthday at his favourite place and while we know it will be very emotional and hard to go through it is the right thing for us to do.
“Ahead of his birthday we set up a fundraiser to support the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust who did everything to help us bring Edward home, hoping to raise something close to what we would have spent on his party and gifts. But we have had a huge response so far with it raising over £1,000 a few hours after being setup and we are very grateful to everyone who has donated.”
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