Our Team
Linda Corcoran – Operations Manager
Linda began her journey with A Little Lifetime in 2016 as a Parent Support volunteer, later joining the National Executive in 2019 before stepping into her current role as Operations Manager in 2023. Originally from Balbriggan and the middle child of five, Linda studied Montessori Education and Childcare and has always had a deep commitment to supporting families. She married her childhood sweetheart in 2009, welcomed her first child in 2012, and in 2013 their daughter, EmmaRose, was born sleeping at 40 weeks. Their rainbow baby arrived in 2014, one year and one day after his sister.
Linda still vividly remembers attending her first support meeting, where a facilitator spoke about her own baby with strength and pride. Seeing someone further along in their grief journey planted a seed of hope that she, too, would one day feel strong again. Over time, Linda found herself offering that same hope to newly bereaved parents — showing that it is possible to live, to smile and to carry deep love alongside deep loss. Supporting families, she says, is her way of parenting EmmaRose, and she considers it an honour to listen to parents share stories of their precious babies.
In her role as Operations Manager, Linda supports the day‑to‑day running of the charity, facilitates workshops and provides direct parent support, ensuring families feel seen, heard and gently guided through an incredibly vulnerable time. One moment that stands out for her is when a parent shared that simply seeing Linda smile at her first meeting gave her hope that she, too, would one day feel okay — a full‑circle echo of the reassurance Linda once sought for herself.
The quote that anchors her work is, “Where there is great grief, there is great love.” It helped her understand the depth of her own grief after losing EmmaRose, and it continues to guide the compassion she brings to every family she meets.
Linda’s message to anyone visiting the charity in the midst of deep grief is simple and heartfelt: you are not alone. The early days can feel frightening and overwhelming, but support is here. In time, the intensity softens, and it becomes possible to carry both love and loss together — gently, one day at a time.
Volunteer Profiles
Trish Stuart – Executive Board & Volunteer
Trish became involved with A Little Lifetime Foundation just before Covid and joined the Executive Board in 2025. Her connection to the charity began after the loss of her first baby, Ollie, who was diagnosed during pregnancy with Trisomy 18. Throughout her pregnancy, Trish journaled to help process the worries and emotions that came with carrying a much‑loved baby whose time might be short. Ollie was born silently on November 1st, sharing his Grandad’s birthday — something that brought deep comfort to her family.
During her maternity leave, Trish attended the Newly Bereaved Group, where she learned that grief and love coexist and that Ollie would always remain part of her family’s story. She went on to welcome three more children, each pregnancy shaped by the unique anxieties that come after loss. Support from fetal medicine teams and ALLF’s Pregnancy After Loss community became an important part of her journey.
Losing Ollie changed the direction of Trish’s life and work. She moved from acute nursing into Public Health Nursing, where she now cares for families across all stages of life, including parents who have also experienced the loss of a baby. Her personal experience allows her to support families with empathy grounded in shared understanding rather than theory.
Within ALLF, Trish volunteers with the Pregnancy After Loss group and the Rainbow Group, offering gentle connection and community to bereaved mothers navigating new pregnancies or the early months with their rainbow babies. She values having a space where Ollie’s name can be spoken openly, and where stories are shared in support, remembrance, and hope.
Trish believes deeply in the idea of “finding meaning” as part of the grief journey, and feels her involvement with the charity has helped her honour Ollie’s life in a positive way. Her young son calls the charity “A Little Lifetown,” and to her, that perfectly describes the community of parents who come together to remember their babies and support one another with compassion.
Jillian Concannon – Parent Support Volunteer
Jillian Concannon has been part of A Little Lifetime for over ten years and is a cherished member of the parent support team. Based in the Midlands, she helps organise and run workshops, supports families at events, assists with training and information days, and plays an active role in the “Pregnancy Support After Diagnosis” Facebook group.
A stay‑at‑home mother of five, Jillian’s family includes Jack, Caoimhe, Aoife, Ailish, and her daughter Doireann, who should be sixteen. In 2009, at a 36‑week scan, Jillian and her family learned that Doireann had anencephaly and would not survive long after birth. Doireann arrived nine days later, on December 30th, and lived for six precious hours.
Those early days of grief were frightening and isolating, and like so many parents, Jillian turned to the internet searching for understanding and connection. She found A Little Lifetime and, through meetings, workshops, late‑night conversations on the forum, and the guidance of Peter Hanlon, she felt supported, understood, and held through her loss. Over time, the charity became a lifeline. When the opportunity to train as a volunteer arose, Jillian knew she wanted to give back and offer other bereaved parents what had meant so much to her.
For Jillian, supporting families through baby loss means creating the same sense of safety, understanding, and solidarity that carried her through her own grief. She never felt she needed “therapy” in the traditional sense — what she needed was to be around people who truly got it. Being able now to offer that same peer support is something she values deeply. She doesn’t claim to have magic words or solutions, but she has lived experience, open hands, and a willingness to walk alongside others learning to live without their child.
One of Jillian’s favourite parts of her involvement with A Little Lifetime is running craft‑based workshops. She loves seeing parents say their babies’ names, share their stories, and create something meaningful in their memory. She treasures the way these workshops provide a calm, gentle space where parents can sit together, chat, and make something from the heart. Many people arrive saying, “I’m not arty,” but she has watched time and time again how love inspires beautiful creations.
Jillian believes deeply in the healing power of connection. After Doireann died, being around other bereaved parents was what helped her survive. Now, she is grateful to offer that same presence to others. The quote that anchors her work is: “Grief is just love with nowhere to go.”
Although she wishes every day that Doireann were here growing up alongside her siblings, Jillian is profoundly grateful that her little girl came into their lives, even for such a short time. Loving Doireann has shaped their family, made them better parents, and introduced Jillian to countless wonderful people and meaningful moments. Everything she does with A Little Lifetime is in her daughter’s honour.
Jenny Jacobs – Parent Support Volunteer
Jenny Jacobs began volunteering with A Little Lifetime in October 2024. Originally from Rathfarnham, she spent many years living abroad — two years in Rome followed by a decade in the UK. She started her career as a history teacher before moving into careers guidance, but after the loss of her daughter Cara, she chose not to return to working in schools.
Jenny and her husband welcomed their first daughter in 2019. They then experienced two missed miscarriages before Cara was stillborn at 39 weeks on New Year’s Day 2022. Another missed miscarriage followed, and in 2023 they moved back home to Dublin, where they set up a family business selling aviation and pilot supplies. In 2024, they welcomed their rainbow baby.
When Jenny lost Cara, she was still living abroad, yet A Little Lifetime embraced her with warmth and understanding. The charity connected her with people who understood the Irish context of pregnancy and baby loss and who shared the same language of grief. The support she received during those darkest days carried her through, and now that she is stronger, she feels compelled to give back.
For Jenny, supporting families through baby loss means being present long after the initial shock has passed. In the early days, many parents are surrounded by compassionate care — from family, bereavement midwives and hospital staff — but as the months and years move on, the world often expects them to move on too. Jenny knows how isolating that can feel, and she values the steady, ongoing support that A Little Lifetime provides during those quieter, lonelier phases of grief.
You’ll often see Jenny at A Little Lifetime events throughout the year, including the Glasnevin services and the Christmas Remembrance Service. She also helps with fundraising initiatives such as the pop‑up communion shop and has represented the charity at the National Maternity Hospital Remembrance Service and at bereavement information events run by the Irish Hospice Foundation.
What Jenny cherishes most about volunteering is that love does not end when a baby dies — the desire to parent them remains. Over time, parents find new and meaningful ways to do that. For Jenny, the time she spends volunteering is time she spends with Cara, and one of the ways she parents her. She loves hearing families speak about their babies with pride, and she treasures being in a space where Cara’s name — and every baby’s name — is welcomed and honoured. Though it’s a community no one ever wishes to join, she describes it as one of the most compassionate and understanding groups she has ever been part of.
A moment that stands out for Jenny is attending the Lighting of the Christmas Tree in Glasnevin for the first time. She was deeply moved by the large crowd and by meeting people who had been coming for years. It was a powerful reminder that, no matter how life changes or how much time passes, the love we have for our children and siblings never fades. We carry them with us always.
A piece of writing that holds special meaning for Jenny is a line from Christy Kenneally’s poem Dear Parents, which was read at Cara’s funeral:
“There are many
Who have lived long lives
And who have not been loved as me.”
These words have stayed with her, helping her make sense of the depth of grief for a baby she held for such a short time. Cara’s life was brief, yet her impact continues to be enormous. Jenny’s volunteering is part of that impact too — a way of honouring Cara’s life and ensuring her love reaches others. In many ways, the work Jenny does now continues what her daughter began.