Fears of huge Irish fatalities allayed

The number of Irish killed in the terror attacks on America may not be as high as first feared, the Republic’s US Ambassador said today.

As Ireland prepares to shut down for a national day of mourning, Sean O’hUiginn allayed fears of a large contingent among the death toll following the strikes on New York and Washington.

He said: ‘‘In terms of Irish victims whose whereabouts are a cause of concern for us the number is not hugely high, but with the caveat we really don’t have the full picture.’’

So far a Cork woman, Ruth McCourt, and her four-year-old daughter Juliana as well as priest Fr Michael Judge, are the only confirmed Irish fatalities.

Although Mr O’hUiginn said his office has taken some 3,000 calls from anxious relatives and friends, he was ‘‘reasonably confident’’ no more Irish people were on board any of the four flights involved in the catastrophe.

His main concerns were focused on the still-to-emerge scale of victims caught in the New York carnage.

The family of a 35-year-old Co Sligo man, who was in one of the trade centre towers at the time of the attack, have confirmed he is missing.

Kieran Gorman, from Carrowcurragh, Lavagh, was among a group of labourers feared to have died when a plane crashed into the building where they had been working on the 97th floor.

But despite Irish or Irish-American losses predicted among the emergency services who perished amid the mayhem, Mr O’hUiginn believed only a ‘‘small number’’ of Irish people remained unaccounted for.

‘‘In terms of Irish victims the number I think would be regarded as low in terms of most people’s expectations, but we are treating it with caution,’’ he told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

In a bid to establish the number of Irish killed in the attacks, the Department of Foreign Affairs has urged all families who phoned to check on missing relatives that have since made contact to call back and tell officials those people are now safe.

The department has established freephone helplines: 1800 715165; 1800 715159; 1800 401800; 1800 385858. Callers from the UK should phone [phone].

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Mary Harney has urged all businesses to close down tomorrow in a show of solidarity with grief-stricken Americans.

Some small retailers have expressed concerns that they could suffer huge losses and hit out at the lack of warning for the public holiday.

But the Tanaiste insisted the 24-hour closure of shops, schools and all government departments, apart from the emergency services, was a small price to pay.

She said: ‘‘We recognise it’s going to cause significant problems for employers, especially given the short notice, and we didn’t lightly come to this decision.

‘‘But we felt it was important to have a clear response and appropriate response given the special relationship, and we are asking for community solidarity, for the community to share in the loss that occurred all over the United States.’’