‘I just want to erase 2012 from memory’
Lorraine Gallagher is still struggling to come to terms with the deaths of her two daughters, Erin, 14, and Shannon, 15.
Both girls were found dead at different locations in Donegal in October and December.
Erin died amid claims she was being bullied while older sister Shannon was found dead six weeks later.
The girls’ mother said Shannon just could not carry on in life without her best friend Erin.
Lorraine, 36, said last night she is trying desperately to pick up the pieces and get on with her life.
She says she is trying to erase the pain of the loss of her two beloved daughters.
But she admits she is struggling to cope. “Every day is a struggle and the girls are all I think about night and day.
“I’m trying to keep as normal a life as I can for [her son] Sean James but I am surrounded by the memories of the girls.
“I am praying it will get easier with time. It’s still very raw and I just want to erase 2012 from my memory.
“I am just hoping I can pick up the pieces and find some kind of understanding in 2013,” she said.
Lorraine, from Ballybofey, visited the girls’ graves in Castlefin Cemetery on Christmas Day, which, she said, was the hardest thing she has ever done. Shannon would have turned 16 on Dec 23.
“We used to have such a great time at Christmas and the girls loved it.
“We spent our Christmas together at a graveside. I was just numb going to the grave. I didn’t know what to say to the girls.
“In the end, we didn’t have to say anything. They know how much I miss them and how much I always will. Things will never be the same again,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lorraine’s solicitor Patsy Gallagher has confirmed he is continuing with a case of alleged negligence against Donegal Vocational Education Committee over Erin’s death.
