Counselling supports sought after violent deaths of Tallaght siblings
Footage of the violent incident surrounding the deaths of eight-year-old twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley and their 18-year-old sister Lisa Cash has been circulated on Whatsapp, with a local representative urging people to refrain from sharing it further.
“There are videos being shared on WhatsApp. I would ask people not to share it out of respect for the family and the local community as well," said Dermot Richardson, a Sinn Féin councillor for the Tallaght area.
“If you have footage, please pass on to the gardaí.”
Mr Richardson called for welfare support to be put in place for the family, local community, and schoolchildren.
The school attended by Christy and Chelsea Cawley has requested the support of the National Education Psychological Service to help pupils and staff following their deaths.
The eight-year-old twins were fatally injured in an attack in their home in Rossfield Avenue in Brookfield, Tallaght, at around 12.30am on Sunday morning.
Their 18-year-old sister, Lisa Cash, also died as a result of injuries sustained in the incident, while a 14-year-old brother of the three also sustained injuries. His are not life threatening. The siblings' mother was also taken to hospital for observation but was discharged on Sunday and was being cared for by relatives.
In a statement, Tomás Hayes, principal of St Aidan’s SNS in Tallaght said: “We are deeply saddened by the event that occurred over the weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the deceased.
“As a school, our priority will be to take every step to ensure that the needs of our students and their families are met, at this challenging time.
“We will be providing support to pupils and school staff to help them deal with this tragedy and have requested the support of the National Education Psychological Service in this respect.”
Friends of the three siblings and their family gathered throughout Sunday in the Brookfield Youth and Community Centre to share their grief.
Centre manager Sandra Lambert said: “People gathered around and chatted, and the kids did a lot of posters and drawings. It is just so tragic.”
Solidarity councillor in the area, Kieran Mahon, said people all over the country woke up horrified on Sunday morning to hear about the deaths of the three siblings.
He said the violent deaths of two young children and a young woman should result in people pulling around the family to give them the support they need.
But he also said the deaths highlighted a need for society to look at the root causes of “why we are once again in a situation where we have two young children dead and a young woman dead in such a violent manner”.
Cllr Mahon added: “There will be huge collective trauma around this.”
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, described the killings of the three siblings as a tragedy that was “so awful and heart-breaking”.
She continued: “It is difficult to comprehend. My thoughts are with the family and the local community as they deal with this unimaginable crime. Gardaí and other services are supporting them at this difficult time.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Charlie O’Connor visited the scene on Sunday at Rossfield Avenue in Brookfield.
He said he knew of the family and was horrified by the incident.
He said: “People are shocked and upset.”
He said any event of this nature would cause shock but added that it is more shocking because of children being involved.
He added: “This will affect many, many people.” Cllr O’Connor said that the area was cordoned off throughout Sunday as gardaí carried out investigations of the house and a vehicle parked outside.
Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South West, John Lahart, said that words are totally inadequate.
“As a public representative for the area you'd just be thinking of the families and neighbours,”
he said.
“I'm sure more details will emerge and we'll leave that to the gardaí.”
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