Local trio recognised as some of the top mums in Northern Ireland

Lisburn’s Amanda Francey, Dromore’s Helen Downey and Moira’s Christine Costley have been honoured at the prestigious SuperValu SuperMums award ceremony, held at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.

The trio were among 36 mums from across Northern Ireland who were honoured, although they were pipped by Belfast’s Geraldine Cassidy, who was crowned SuperValu SuperMum 2015.

SuperValu Lisburn finalist Amanda was recognised for her strength in caring for her son, Noah who was diagnosed with Dandy Walker Syndrome, a congenital brain malformation, when she was pregnant.

Noah wasn’t expected to make it through pregnancy however he kept his fight for nine months, passing on April 30th of this year.

While caring for Noah, Amanda also managed to balance her time with her eldest son Lucas. Helen Downey, SuperValu Dromore’s finalist was also recognised for the fantastic job she has carried out, raising seven girls. Helen, whose children age from 7 – 19 years old, was nominated by her daughter Aisling and has supported her through some recent challenges, offering much love to get her through the difficult times.

SuperValu Moira finalist, Christine Costley was also honoured for her positive attitude in caring for her daughter Chloe, who contracted meningitis at five months old. The illness left Chloe with numerous disabilities including the loss of a leg, partial sight, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and scoliosis. Despite Christine’s young age, she has shown great strength with dealing with Chloe’s disabilities, which her family are very proud of.

Dairyfarm SuperMum Geraldine was crowned the winner for dedicating much of her life to the care of children. Over a period of 15 years, Geraldine as a foster carer, opened her home to almost 80 children, from new born babies to pre-teens, who required urgent short-term care.

Hundreds of nominations were received for the competition sponsored by Magnum, Kellogg’s and Robinsons, and the grand final was hosted by TV personality Claire McCollum, who presented winner Geraldine with a family trip to Disneyland Paris, courtesy of Clubworld Travel.

Donna Morrison, Marketing Manager of SuperValu, said: “I would like to congratulate all 36 of our SuperMum finalists as they are all very deserving.

“This year we were overwhelmed with wonderful mums and it was so heart-warming to welcome our SuperMums to Parliament Buildings, Stormont for this special evening.

“There are so many inspirational mothers across Northern Ireland who show such humility when dealing with life’s challenges, we are delighted to be able to recognise some of them this year.”

For further information log onto www.supervalu.co.uk or visit www.facebook.com/SuperValuNI.