First anniversary of shocking deaths brings no answers

ONE year after a tragedy that rocked the nation and raised significant questions about how we treat the issues of mental health and child protection, the grieving families of Adrian, 29, Ciara, 26, Lean, 5, and Shania, 3, Dunne are no closer to knowing the truth about how their loved ones died.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what’s happening,” said Adrian’s mother Mary Dunne yesterday when asked about investigations into the shocking deaths.

“Everything we’ve heard has been through the media.”

An inquest has yet to be held into the deaths that probably occurred on this date last year and propelled the Co Wexford village of Monageer into the headlines for unwelcome reasons.

The tragic family lived in the village for less than a year, having stayed in private rented accommodation in other parts of Wexford prior to securing council accommodation, but were already planning to move on again, Mary Dunne revealed yesterday.

“They were happy as a couple and as a family but they weren’t happy in Monageer, they were waiting for another house somewhere else,” she said.

While tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the discovery of the four bodies in their council bungalow on the Moine Rua estate, today is thought to be the anniversary of when they died — given that Adrian spoke to his brother Sebastian by telephone on the previous Saturday night, April 21.

The inquest into the events of that weekend will not take place until an independent inquiry — established by the Government — has done its work and made its report to the Minister for Children.

The inquiry, chaired by barrister and former nurse Kate Brosnan, started its work on January 7 — the day Adrian Dunne would have turned 30 — after awaiting reports from the gardaí investigating the case, and investigating the gardaí’s own role in that tragic weekend, as well as the HSE, which was informed about concerns for the family’s safety on the Saturday afternoon but was not in a position to do anything because of the lack of weekend and out-of-hours social work cover in most parts of the country.

Just last week, the inquiry was given a three-month extension to its original three-month remit and will not now report until early July.

“We weren’t told anything about the extension,” said Mary Dunne yesterday. “We only heard it through the media.”

Ms Dunne, along with three of her sons and a daughter, have already given evidence to the inquiry in Dublin. “We could only tell them what we know, but we didn’t know what happened then and we still don’t know what happened.”

According to Adrian’s sister, Bridget, reports at the weekend that toxicology results from the four bodies had come back came as news to the family. “We’ve been told nothing about that,” she said. “We don’t know anything about toxicology reports, we’re just finding out everything from the media. We’re not going to say anything more about it except to let our solicitor deal with it.”

Remembering events of a year ago, Bridget said the family had just been through the first anniversary of the death of their father, well-known local musician Hughie, while another brother had taken his own life just weeks beforehand.

“It was an awful time, and it’s been a hard year,” she said yesterday.

“I remember a year ago, I had taken a day off work because I was sick, and I was sitting here at home. We knew nothing about anything being wrong [with Adrian and Ciara] and as far as we knew, everything was grand. Then by that afternoon everything was changed. It just hits you, the shock, like a bullet.”

In recent months, attention focused on the fact that Adrian had debts to moneylenders and had asked his mother for a loan of €50,000.

“I wouldn’t have the colour of that, nothing like that,” said Ms Dunne yesterday. She said it was at least three years before his death that Adrian told her about his debt problems and she didn’t think it was this issue that drove him to his death.

Adrian and Ciara had trouble from some of their neighbours, she claimed, but others had been good to them. “I’m not saying everybody was the same, it was just a few people giving them abuse.”

Since last year, the Dunnes have not been in the house where Adrian, Ciara, Lean and Shania died. They’ve left flowers outside on family occasions and, according to Bridget, the bungalow at the end of the little cul-de-sac has been passed on by the council.

Tomorrow they’ll visit Adrian’s grave in Boolavogue, then travel to Donegal to visit the grave of his wife and daughters, before an anniversary mass next weekend. Then, they hope the inquiry and inquest will give them the answers that have eluded them for a year.

Timetable of family tragedy

Friday, April 20, 2007

* Adrian and Ciara Dunne visit a funeral director’s office in New Ross to make burial arrangements for themselves and their daughters, Lean and Shania.

* Funeral director contacts gardaí.

* Gardaí ask Fr Richard Redmond of Poulpeasty (Adrian’s native parish) to speak to the Dunnes.

* Fr Redmond calls to the Monageer house that evening and comes away “concerned”, but unaware of any plans.

Saturday, April 21

* Gardaí contact the HSE’s childcare manager for the Wexford community care area to convey their concerns.

* The HSE “remind” gardaí that the out-of-hours provisions for vulnerable children are the Caredoc GP service or the 1991 Childcare Act giving powers to the gardaí to remove at-risk children from a home and place them in a safe place, such as a hospital.

* That evening, Adrian speaks to his brother, Sebastian, over the telephone and talks about his next visit to Anfield to see his beloved Liverpool FC.

Sunday, April 22

* Gardaí from Enniscorthy drive around the Moine Rua estate over the course of the weekend, but don’t knock on the Dunnes’ front door at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Monday, April 23

* Gardaí arrange to meet a social worker at lunchtime outside the Dunnes’ house.

* Gardaí break down the back door of the house and find the bodies of Adrian, Ciara, Lean and Shania.

* The HSE issue a statement to the media to clarify their involvement over the weekend and what they told gardaí.

Tuesday, April 24

* Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan orders an independent inquiry into the tragedy.

Saturday, April 28

* Adrian Dunne is buried alone in the cemetery at Boolavogue, Co Wexford.

* Ciara, Lean and Shania are buried in Burt, Co Donegal, in compliance with the wishes of Ciara’s parents.

Monday, January 7, 2008

* The independent inquiry, chaired by barrister and former nurse Kate Brosnan, starts its work. Other inquiry members are retired Garda assistant commissioner Jim McHugh and Citizens Information Board chief executive Leonie Lunny.