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Losing a parent is never easy. But when the person who has nurtured
and inspired you dies as a result of a disease that little - if anything
- is known about, the pain and hurt can be even more devastating.
So it has been for Sharon, Caroline, Andrea and Jim Corr, better
known as Irish supergroup The Corrs.
They have been deeply affected by the death of their mother from a rare disease at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital in 1999.
The youngest Corr, 26-year-old Andrea, says: "I wish that she'd written a diary. I do know her very well, but I'd love to have a diary of her youth. I'd love to know how she felt.
"I want to know her emotions as a girl and her little struggles and what she went through and when she met Daddy. Her mind, her happiness. And I just want to be as good as her.
"It's tough. It'll even come down to looking for a recipe. Or when you're sick and you want to ring your mother, let alone talk about the future and having babies.
"I just remember her telling stories some nights and my mind would open and I'd think 'Wow'. Those conversations are very special to me and I know there's a wealth more that I never heard."
For Sharon, the eldest daughter at 30, her mother's death had a different kind of poignancy. She had become engaged to Irish barrister Gavin Bonner three months before Jean died. No wedding date has been set, but she and Gavin hope to marry this year.
Sharon says of her mother's absence: "I'm sad that she won't be at the wedding and the day may be more difficult because of that.
"But my mother loved Gavin, she really loved him, and it's nice to have that sort of endorsement from your parents."
It was in April 1999 that Jean Corr was diagnosed with Cryptogenic Fibrosing Alveolitis, which blocks the air sacs in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Jim looked it up on the Internet. "I got quite a shock when I realised it was a fatal and incurable disease," he says. "But we were always holding out. You just hope."
That November Jean - whose famous daughters bear a striking resemblance to her - was flown to the Freeman Hospital from the family home in Dundalk for a lung transplant. Unexpectedly, her condition worsened and she died aged 57.
But 13 months after her death the Corrs are rising above their loss and next week will see them take to the stage at Newcastle's Telewest Arena for a charity concert in aid of the Freeman Hospital.
The money will help pay for a new wing to research the cause of the lung disease which claimed Jean's life. While doctors know about the effects of the disease, the cause is not known. It is believed it may be the result of a genetic disorder or caused by breathing in a contaminant.
What is worrying is that the number of people being struck down by the condition is rising.
The Corrs hope to raise more than £100,000 from next Monday's one-off event, which kicks off their British tour. Two weeks later the band will be back in Newcastle.
It will be the first time the Corrs have returned to the city since Jean's death and they admit it will be an emotional occasion.
Sharon says: "I think one of the difficult things is that Newcastle is a place for us that means so much, but the treatment we had over there from people was fantastic, from taxi drivers to people in the hotel.
"Everyone was so caring. Obviously we are very family- orientated people, and it was a very comfortable place to be, even though it was such a tragedy for us.
"I think one of the hardest things will be seeing the hospital again and, in a little way, the hotel, as we spent so much time there to-ing and fro-ing from the hospital."
The Corrs could perhaps be forgiven for leaving Newcastle off their itinerary. But Sharon adds: "It is something you should never avoid and something you have to embrace, even in grief.
"It's just nice we can share something with the people of Newcastle and that we can give something back."
Jim nods in agreement. "Newcastle is special in our hearts because of the Freeman Hospital, as that's where our mother died, unfortunately, due to the rare lung disease she had."
The Corrs have been raising money for the Freeman's research centre since Jean's death, but were waiting for an opportunity to give more.
Caroline says: "We spent the last year trying to think of something we could do and we thought it was a good idea to do a concert. We only decided to do it in the last couple of months and put it at the top of the tour."
Tickets are £20 each and proceeds after overheads will go to the Freeman. The band is hoping to raise even more, however. Jim says: "We will be asking that people go round with buckets collecting more money and that people give what they can afford."
Andrea adds: "The other way is that you can always contact the hospital and definitely they would be very willing to take any money off your hands."
The band has given the British Lung Foundation permission to collect money at all their UK concerts.
Next Monday's playlist will include tracks from their latest album, In Blue, including the poignant No More Cry, which was written to support their father, Gerry, after Jean's death. The family has always been close knit - a bond that has been tightened further.
Andrea says: "We are the only ones who truly understand each other, at every level. We look out for each other. I feel that strength now. I'd always been a bit apologetic about being a family band. I thought it was a bit twee. Now I think, 'Wow, that's really strong'."
Jean and Gerry were the rock on which the internationally- acclaimed soft rock and Irish folk band was built. Their early albums acknowledged the debt with the words: "With very special thanks to Jean and Gerry Corr."
Jean and Gerry played in a band and the couple instilled a love of music in their children.
Jim, 36, was encouraged to learn to play the piano and guitar, Sharon the violin and Caroline, 27, the piano before switching to the drums in her teens, while Andrea's voice has been described as the best in pop.
The Corrs are determined to make Monday's charity concert one to remember, although it shouldn't be thought that they are wallowing in their grief.
Andrea says: "Obviously it is a very, very special night, but at the same time it is a concert and it is a celebration. I think in a way that as people we can all get together and make this hospital even better than it is.
"People should expect a great night out and know at the same time that
it wasn't self indulgence, they were giving while they were watching the
gig." • There are still tickets left for the January 8 concert. Tickets,
£20, are available on (0191) 401-8000, from the Arena box office
or via the website at www.telewestarena.co.uk