Grieving mum who lost family says baby who survived is reason to live

A young mother who lost her husband and two children and her mother and sister in a pier-side tragedy has said her surviving baby is her reason to live.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Mar 2016, 08:27 BST
Updated 22nd Mar 2016, 08:38 BST
Sean McGrotty with children Mark (12) and Evan (8) with baby Rioghnach who survived and Sean's s wife Louise.Sean McGrotty with children Mark (12) and Evan (8) with baby Rioghnach who survived and Sean's s wife Louise.
Sean McGrotty with children Mark (12) and Evan (8) with baby Rioghnach who survived and Sean's s wife Louise.

Louise McGrotty, from Ballymagroarty in Londonderry city, had been away for a hen weekend when tragedy struck as the family went on a day trip over the border to Co Donegal.

Her husband Sean, 46, died alongside their sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, her mother Ruth Daniels, 57, and the grieving mother’s 14-year-old sister Jodie-Lee.

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They had been in an Audi Q7, a sports utility-type vehicle, which slid off a slipway on the pier in Buncrana into Lough Swilly on Sunday evening.

Flowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pierFlowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pier
Flowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pier

The only survivor was the McGrottys’ four-month-old baby girl Rionaghac-Ann.

The grieving mother was in the family home for much of the day surrounded by extended family and friends as she tried to grasp the extent of the tragedy.

Clergy and politicians also came to express their condolences, including parish priest Father Paddy O’Kane who revealed the small mercy visited on the family.

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“They are inconsolable,” he said. “Louise said to me, ‘I have lost everyone, except little Rionaghac-Ann’. She said ‘Rionaghac-Ann is my reason to go on’.”

Ruth Daniels and her daughter Jodie Lee Daniels who died in Sunday night's tragedy.Ruth Daniels and her daughter Jodie Lee Daniels who died in Sunday night's tragedy.
Ruth Daniels and her daughter Jodie Lee Daniels who died in Sunday night's tragedy.

The baby girl, who was said to be doing well in Letterkenny General Hospital, was rescued by a bystander who stripped down and swam out to the sinking car as Mr McGrotty screamed for help.

He was named by eyewitnesses as Davitt Walsh from Kerrykeel in Co Donegal.

Gardai are treating the incident – one of the worst to hit the Inishowen area of Donegal – as a tragic accident.

Mrs McGrotty’s brother Joshua plays for Derry City FC.

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Davitt Walsh speaking on RTE.Davitt Walsh speaking on RTE.
Davitt Walsh speaking on RTE.

The Daniels and McGrotty families thanked everyone who had supported them in the wake of the tragedy.

“Our families have been devastated by the tragic events of last night in which five members of our family died in a terrible accident. The family has been inundated with support and sympathy from the local community and further afield and this is deeply appreciated.”

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins joined Northern Ireland’s first and deputy first ministers in extending sympathies to the extended families.

“I have heard with the greatest sadness of the terrible loss of life of a family in Buncrana,” he said. “My heart goes out to the family and loved ones.”

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Flowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pierFlowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pier
Flowers left at the Scene at the Pier in Buncrana Co Donegal, after five people, including children, have died after a car went off a pier

Martin McGuinness, who visited the scene in Buncrana after visiting the grieving mother in Londonderry, said there were no words to sum up her heartache.

“I have just come from meeting a young woman who has lost her partner, her two sons, her mother and her sister and it is a very, very sad house,” he said.

“Truly heartbreaking, mind numbing and shocking beyond belief.”

First Minister Arlene Foster issued a joint statement with Mr McGuinness to express sorrow over the deaths.

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“This tragedy resonates with us all. At times like this it is difficult to comprehend how life can be so altered in the matter of moments,” they said.

The Audi car driven by Mr McGrotty is believed to have been turning at the end of the pier in Buncrana when the wheels failed to grip. The slipway structure, used by vehicles to access a ferry to Rathmullan in the summer, is prone to a build-up of thick algae.

See Morning View, page 14

Related topics:BuncranaMartin McGuinnessMichael D Higgins