Father a gentle, quiet man who was extremely close to sons

Sanjeev Chada was “deeply loved” by his wife Kathleen, regarded locally as a friendly, gentle, quiet man who was extremely close to his two sons.

As such, it makes the events of Sunday and Monday all the more inexplicable for his family and the Ballinkillen community in which he’d become embedded in recent years.

His parents were of Indian origin but living in London and it’s believed Sanjeev himself was born in Northern Ireland.

His brother, who still lives in the North, travelled to Ballinkillen on Monday morning as concerns grew about the safety of little Eoghan and Ruairi, and was in the house shared by Sanjeev and Kathleen Chada and their two boys when the phonecall came from gardaí to say the children had been found dead.

Sanjeev’s mother lives in London, and his father died about five years ago.

Kathleen Murphy grew up in Ballinkillen in the farmhouse owned by her parents Willie and Patsy, with her sister, Irene, and brothers, Kevin, Brian, Liam, and Kenneth.

She met Sanjeev over 13 years ago and the couple married and initially lived in Dublin, where Eoghan was born, before moving back to Ballinkillen and building a comfortable house on the edge of the Murphys’ family farm.

It was from that house that Sanjeev brought the boys on Sunday evening, ostensibly on a bowling trip but ultimately to their deaths.

Sanjeev worked as an IT consultant, basing himself at home, and in his spare time played five-a-side soccer and indoor soccer as well as encouraging the two boys in their love of football and hurling with the local Ballinkillen club and soccer with Nurney Villa FC, close to Bagenalstown.

The 43-year-old frequently brought five-year-old Ruairí with him to watch 10-year-old Eoghan play matches, and would be kicking a ball about on the sideline with Ruairi.

Known locally as Sanj, he was also involved in the local community council, which runs the community centre behind the parish church, and was on the committee.

He was said to have been “very much loved” by the extended Murphy family and fit in well into the rural community of Ballinkillen.

Despite his naturally quiet nature, he made great efforts to get involved in local activities — as his commitment to local sports and the community centre proved — and the family appeared to be a picture of contentment.

Last night, Kathleen and the rest of the family were waiting for two of her brothers who live abroad to arrive home. Kenneth works as a chef in a hotel in Abu Dhabi while Liam is involved in the construction industry in Melbourne, Australia.

Her other two brothers, Brian and Kevin, had the horrific task of travelling to Castlebar on Monday evening to formally identify the remains of Eoghan and Ruairí.

Elsewhere in the same hospital, Sanjeev Chada was being treated for the injuries he received in the crash.