‘Get help before you do something to cause great pain to your family’

The daughter of a couple tragically killed in their Co Donegal home has pleaded with people with mental health problems to get professional help.

Maureen Cuddihy made her plea at the funerals of her parents Jimmy and Kathleen at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Carndonagh yesterday.

The popular pensioners were found dead at their home in Churchtown on Thursday morning last.

An axe was recovered at the scene by gardaí as part of their investigation.

Their youngest son Julian, 42, has been charged with their murders and Judge Kevin Kilrane has ordered a psychiatric report to be carried out.

Heartbroken Maureen appealed to people suffering from depression or any form of mental health issues to speak out.

“Please seek help. There are so many brilliant services available for people, and I’d urge anyone feeling low to talk now.

“Don’t wait. Speak now and get help before you do something that will cause such great pain to your family,” she said.

She described her parents as loving, kind and beautiful people.

“When they worked together on a project, they were like a force of nature.

“As both captain and presidents of the golf club, they strived to make it the best club it could be.

“Over the last five days, we’ve come to realise how popular and much-loved our parents were and just how many people they actually helped.

“Mum must have had half of Inishowen in the back of the ambulance and Dad has taught so many people maths over the years and given them grinds.

“They were wonderful parents to all of us, and when money was tight in the house, there was always money for education.

“Education would set us free they told us, and there was always money for education.

“They were so kind and caring, mum always gave us supplies when we went away.

“Even when we were getting a plane to London, she’d be trying to give us bags of turf and food.”

An eerie silence hung over the Inishowen market town as the couple were led to their final resting place.

Businesses closed and people lined the streets of the town on the Inishowen Peninsula as the couple were brought to their final resting place.

The coffins containing Jimmy, 77, and Kathleen, 73, were carried from their home at Churchtown followed by hundreds of grieving locals.

The mourners were led by three of the couple’s four children, including James, Delilah and Maureen.

Fr Con McLaughlin led the funeral mass assisted by the Bishop of Derry, Most Rev Donal McKeown.

Fr McLaughlin said: “Kathleen and Jimmy were so revered and highly respected in their professions, and because of their dedication and kindness in their roles, it ensured they were a much-loved and respected couple in the community.”

Meanwhile, Bishop McKeown stated: “These are painful days. But as a faith community, you have had to face many difficult times. You will continue to be with the family over the next weeks and months.

“You will support one another in the midst of fears and anxieties. You will be sensitive to those who had to deal with the aftermath of the deaths.

“This is where a parish community that prays is at its best — refusing to be broken or to pretend that nothing has happened, helping one another to find peace with the past and to build hope for the future.”