Dublin mum shares son Samuel's story to help other grieving families

There are stories that stop you mid-scroll. Stories that make you put your phone down and just sit with the weight of them for a moment. Louise Kinlen’s is one of those stories.

Louise, from Stillorgan in Dublin, lost her son Samuel Roquette on 13 December 2019. He was 11 years old. A bright, funny, football-mad boy who loved music, loved to run and had set up his own stop-motion video company with his best friend Sebastian — making films with Lego characters, the way only an imaginative kid could dream up.

Samuel had battled acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and had undergone chemotherapy for three and a half years. But he had finished his treatment in 2016 and had been thriving. By all accounts, he was getting on with being a kid.

Then, in late 2019, what looked like an ordinary winter bug didn’t shift. He was brought to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin. His condition deteriorated with terrifying speed. Despite normal blood test results just two weeks earlier, the leukaemia had returned — and it was advanced. Within hours, Samuel was unconscious. His parents made the heartbreaking decision to withdraw life support.

Finding somewhere to turn

In the months that followed, Louise and her husband reached out to Anam Cara, the all-island charity whose entire mission is built around one simple but profound belief: that no family should grieve the loss of a child alone.

“I was stunned at how many bereaved parents there were — we felt sometimes we were the only ones,” Louise said. “There was that sense of connection that we weren’t alone, and we really felt supported and that we had somewhere to turn — especially as newly bereaved parents, as it really helped us understand the process of grief and how we can try to integrate the loss of our child into our new normal.”

Louise is now a volunteer parent with Anam Cara as well as a social research consultant, and she’s seen first-hand what that sense of community can do for people who are at their most lost.

“Losing a child is one of the worst experiences you can have,” she said. “We talk about what is helpful for people, whilst recognising the individuality of everyone’s grief. Remembering your child and making meaning of their life is always part of it. We also try to remember the good times. For us, we are at the stage where we can laugh and remember the funny stories and appreciate the life we had with Samuel — Anam Cara has really helped us with this.”

Samuel Roquette

Coffee mornings with a purpose

On 29 May, Anam Cara will hold fundraising coffee mornings at three Bear Market Coffee locations in Dublin — Stillorgan, Blackrock and Sandyford — from 10am to 12 noon. Anyone who comes along will receive a free coffee and is invited to donate whatever they can to the charity.

The hope is that the mornings will do more than raise funds. They’re intended to open up conversations about grief and loss in spaces that feel warm and accessible — over a cup of coffee, in a community setting, without any pressure.

Anam Cara CEO Michelle Reynolds said that connection is at the very heart of what the charity offers bereaved parents.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Bear Market for creating opportunities for community, conversation, and awareness through these events,” she said. “One of the most powerful things we can offer bereaved parents is connection — spaces where they feel seen, understood, and safe to speak openly about their child and their grief.”

Samuel and his dad Benjamin

How to get involved

If you’re in the Stillorgan, Blackrock or Sandyford area on 29 May, consider dropping in. Whether you’ve experienced bereavement yourself or simply want to support a charity doing genuinely important work, it’s a small gesture that could make a real difference to families going through something unimaginable.

For more information on Anam Cara’s work and on how to donate, visit www.anamcara.ie.