THE parents of the youngest victim of the Claudy bombings passed away without ever recovering from the loss of their nine-year-old daughter.
Today marks the 37th anniversary of the IRA atrocity which claimed nine victims – five Catholics and four Protestants – but the search for justice which Billy and Merle Eakin desperately sought for their daughter Kathryn goes on.
"They just never recovered from what happened on that day, some of the other families were able to move on, but it just shattered the Eakin family," said William Houston.
On the morning of July 31, 1972 three separate car bombs ripped through the Co Londonderry village which had, up until that point, been largely untouched by the Troubles.
Images of carnage all too vivid for councillorKathryn Eakin, a nine-year-old girl, was cleaning the window of her father's shop when the no-warning bomb exploded, killing her instantly.
Mr Houston who has liaised with the victims' families and helped organise the 25th and 30th anniversary events, said the Eakin couple continued to grieve for their daughter right up until their own deaths.
"It is particularly poignant that this is the first anniversary that will not be remembered by the parents of little Kathryn Eakin...
