One Year Later: Sun Shines On Bayside Firefighter's Family
By Angela Montefinise
The sun broke through a long patch of rainy days to beam on 53 members of Bayside Firefighter Michael Mullan’s family this August when they visited relatives in Ireland on a “memorial trip” to talk about their hero, who lost his life saving others at Ground Zero on Sept. 11. Theresa Mullan, a Bayside resident and mother of 34-year-old Michael Mullan, told the Tribune that relatives from across the United States went on the trip to meet with family members living overseas, and to comfort each other about their loss as the one-year anniversary of the attacks approached. Theresa said the trip was the first time that all members of the Mullan family were in the same place at the same time, and the first time that many family members were meeting each other. She explained, “If he was alive, Michael would have orchestrated this trip Bayside resident Michael Mullan is still brightening his family's days, even after losing his life on Sept. 11. . . . . When we first got there our relatives told us that they hadn’t had a sunny day since April. Wouldn’t you know it, the whole time we were there, it was sunny and beautiful. That was Michael’s blessing to us. He made sure that we had perfect weather.” While in Ireland, members of the local police and fire departments honored Mullan, and Theresa said, “They felt the tragedy very, very deeply over in Ireland. To many Irish, America is like a second home.” Theresa said that while in Ireland, she and her husband Patrick met a couple who had lost a daughter in the tragedy. “I wanted to be there for them. You know, in Ireland, they don’t have the support system that we have here. When they met me and Patrick, they just cried and cried. We cried and we listened. I’m so glad that we could help,” she said. The Irish couple is just one family that Theresa is sending mass cards to this week in honor of the anniversary of the fall of the World Trade Center. She said that she and her husband Patrick are going to spend Sept. 11, 2002 at Ground Zero, and, “It’s going to be a day of remembrance for us . . . It’s very, very hard and very overwhelming. You know, when it first happened, we were scared and shocked. There was such support, and so many people looking to comfort us. We kept ourselves busy at memorials and other things. There were other emotions involved. Now, it’s just sadness, and it’s sinking in.” Theresa said through tears that her family would “definitely get through this,” and said, “So many terrible memories are coming back. But we will all get through this and be stronger.” Mullan, a musician and raging Yankees fan, worked for Engine Company 3, Ladder Company 12 in Manhattan, and was working a 24-hour shift on Sept. 11 because he was covering for a friend. “He was doing someone a favor,” Theresa said. He called his parents on his way to the Twin Towers on the morning of Sept. 11 to explain what was going on, to tell his family that he loved them, and to say “goodbye.” Theresa said, “He never said goodbye. It was too formal for him. But that morning, he did.” Mullan was a member of the Army Reserves at Fort Totten, worked at Mercy Hospital in Rockville Center, Long Island and St. John’s Hospital on Queens Boulevard, and was studying at Hunter College to become a nurse practitioner. He graduated from Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Cross High School and already received a nursing degree from Queensborough Community College. He joined the Fire Department in 1994. The City Council is expected to approve renaming the piece of Jordan Street where Mullan grew up Michael Mullan Way this week, and Theresa said, “He would have loved that. He truly loved his neighborhood. He was a Bayside kid at heart.”

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