‘The house just feels empty without her’

THE HEARTBROKEN father of a leaving cert student killed in a bomb blast in Turkey a year ago this weekend says he still expects his bubbly, bright daughter to walk through the door.

Tara Whelan’s parents, Tony and Frances, brothers Frank, 27, and Anton, 26, and sisters, Marianne, 25, and Lisa, 20, will gather with other family and friends in their parish church this Saturday for a memorial mass to celebrate her short, fun-filled life which ended after just 17 years.

Tony Whelan said they’ve been living a nightmare since their daughter died in a bus blast in the resort of Kusadasi. “It really hasn’t been easy, her death has brought us huge loss. It’s hard to imagine that she’s really gone.