‘Una will need our support for many years’

“UNA and her family will need the support of the people, not just for this week, this month or this year, but for many years to come. It is such an unbelievable tragedy they will probably never recover from it.”

Those were the words of a local man walking down the main street in the seaside village of Ballycotton in Co Cork yesterday as people grieved for Una Butler who had lost her two children and husband in almost unbelievable circumstances.

Villagers tried to put some normality back into their lives, but couldn’t hide the devastation after John Butler killed his daughters, Ella, aged two, and Zoe, aged six, on Tuesday, and then took his own life by deliberately crashing his car.

Several numbed locals attended Mass in the Star of the Sea Catholic Church yesterday morning and head curate Fr Aidan Crowley prayed for John Butler and his two children and tried to offer words of comfort to the wider community.

“We sometimes fail to understand what happens in our society. Today, we ask the Lord not so much to help us understand, but rather to help us through such a difficult time.”

It is believed 43-year-old John Butler, who suffered from depression and was attending a doctor, killed the two children after his 40-year-old wife, Una,left for work at 7.30am last Tuesday.

Gardaí believe he had killed his daughters before 9.20am. They know at that stage he was on his own when he purchased €20 of petrol from the Top service station in Shanagarry, 4km north of his home.

Mr Butler is believed to have doused his red Toyota Yaris in petrol before driving at high speed into a ditch on the north bog road, less than a mile from Ballycotton. The car burst into flames and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash was reported at 9.45am and gardaí are trying to find out where Mr Butler was for the previous 45 minutes.

Garda checkpoints were set up in the area yesterday in an effort to find motorists who may have seen Mr Butler’s car before the crash, which had the registration 02 C 1526. It emerged that a witness said they saw the Yaris being driven between Garryvoe and Shanagarry shortly after 9.20am.

Designated Garda liaison officers are helping Una Butler and her family come to terms with their grief. An officer was also sent to support the Butler family, who live in Cobh.

Senior gardaí visited Una Butler yesterday evening to offer their condolences. She is being comforted by relatives in Ballycotton.

The removal of Zoe and Ella’s remains will take place tomorrow at 2pm at Star of the Sea Church, Ballycotton. They will be buried afterwards at St Colman’s Cemetery, Cloyne.

* Gardaí are appealing for anybody who saw Mr Butler’s Toyota Yaris to contact Midleton Garda Station at: 021-4621550.