Vigil to honour female victims of violence

A MOTHER who was brutally murdered in her Dundalk home will be remembered in a special memorial to mark the second anniversary of her death.

Irene White was stabbed to death in her kitchen, suffering multiple knife wounds to her back and chest.

On Good Friday, April 6, exactly two years from when Ms White’s elderly mother stumbled across her body, a vigil will be held outside her home.

At the event, organised by Ms White’s sister, Anne Delcassian, tributes will be paid to the 126 women across Ireland who lost their lives to violent crime since 1996.

The parents and aunt of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, beaten to death in Cork over 10 years ago, are among those who will be at the vigil.

More recent victims to be remembered include Waterford woman Meg Walsh, Siobhan Kearney, who was strangled with a vacuum cleaner flex in her Goatstown home, and Rachel O’Reilly, whose husband, Joe, has been charged with her murder.

“In the vigil for Irene we will be remembering the other women in Ireland who have lost their lives like this,” said Ms Delcassian. “This will go some way to highlight the very weak legal system we have in Ireland, when people can walk free while our loved ones lie buried in their graves.

“I want to invite all the families of these murdered women to come and, as a solidarity move by all of us, show we are not prepared to take this any more.”

Ms White, 43, was the mother of a teenage girl, Jennifer, and two young boys, Dairine and Damhan, who now live with relatives.

Her body was found by her mother, Maureen McBride, who died six months later.

Despite Crimestoppers offering a €10,000 reward for information that would lead to the killer, no one has been charged.