Waterford murders: Bishop Phonsie Cullinan and Fr Gerry Chestnutt lead vigil for family

Fr Chestnutt said: 'The person responsible for this has to have the courage now to stand up and admit what you did and face the consequence'

A prayer vigil at the Sacred Heart Church, The Folly, in Waterford City for Kim English, Philip English, and their children Callum and Jayden who died in the house fire n the Birchwood estate in the early hours of Tuesday. Picture: Mícheál Ó Scannáil/PA

"The person responsible for this has to have the courage now to stand up and admit what you did and face the consequences."
That was the call from Father Gerry Chestnutt to mourners attending a vigil for Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden English who died after their home in Waterford was firebombed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. 

There were also prayers for the two children, Nadia, 14 and Elliot, 6 who were rescued from the house and are fighting for their lives in hospital.

Fr Chestnutt said Philip and Kim and their children were “an innocent family preparing for a new day” when they were killed.

They were, he said, “taken from our midst in a most horrific and violent way”.

As well as appealing for those responsible to hand themselves, the priest also urged anybody who knows anything about what happened, to please contact gardaí.

Fr Chestnutt, who concelebrated the vigil with Waterford and Lismore Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, told those in attendance: “This is a very difficult day for this community.

“We come here to show our solidarity with the family and show them how much we care for them.”

Family and friends offer each other condolences at Birchwood estate Co Waterford this afternoon as the community mourned  Kim and Philip English and their children Callum and Jayden. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins  

Sarah Jane Lavery, whose family are from the parish, then sang a traditional Irish welcoming.

Its lyrics echoed around the cavernous modern church, with about 400 people sitting on pews in a circular formation around the priests.

Bishop Cullinan said: “There is something important for us to gather here.

“We pray for Nadia and Elliott, who are critically ill in hospital.

“Somebody said today is a worse day than yesterday because the reality of what happened has settled in.

“We can’t click our fingers and pretend it didn’t happen. But it has happened.”

He added: “Maybe we have many questions but answers do not come.”

Fr Chestnutt also urged everyone to “wrap each other in love”, adding: “Hearts are broken in this community."

He lit four candles, one each for Philip, his wife Kim and their two sons, Callum and Jayden.

Ms Lavery then sang composer Liam Lawton’s The cloud’s veil, about God's comforting presence.

Before the service ended, Ms Lavery also sang Arms of an angel.

Earlier, about 200 gathered to see the release of blue and pink balloons near the English family home on the Birchwood Estate.

Afterwards. Philip's ex-wife Ann English said she and her family are “lost” and they have “no words” to describe how they feel.

She described Philip and his wife as “my best friends”.

Kim and Philip English. Both parents and two of their children have died in a fire in their home in Waterford. Their other two children are in hospital.

Callum English who died in the house fire.

Jayden English who died in the house fire.

Ann English, who had 10 children with Philip, said: “We were very close, very happy. I am in disbelief.

“They were a lovely couple — never had a bother with anyone. Their kids were their life.

“Just to hear that news. It is not sinking in.”

Echoing comments made by one of the boys’ godfathers earlier in the day, she urged those responsible to come forward.

She said: “They should come forward if anyone has anything.

“It is a devastating loss for everyone in the community. For wider family and friends. For the schools. “

Her comments echoed those of Philip’s grand uncle.

Speaking at the cordon near the family’s burnt out home in the Birchwood Estate just outside Waterford James English said: “They should be ashamed of themselves.

“Whoever done it should hand themselves in.”

Asked how the two children in hospital in Dublin are, he said: “They are not too good. She's not too good, or the little fellow not too good at the moment." He added: 

Whoever done this should own up, own up whoever done it.

“At the end of the day, we have a lot of a family wiped out.”

James, who was Callum’s godfather, was visibly upset and fought back tears as he walked away.

Earlier friends had taken him to a spot near the family home where bouquets of flowers have been left.

Tributes have also come from other members of the English family.

Philip’s sister Jackie said in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening, that “heartbroken is an understatement” as to how she felt about her brother’s death, and that of her sister-in-law Kim and what Jackie described as her “two little besties Callum and Jayden”.

She said: ‘I will never forget ye, my loves.

Kim, you were an amazing mammy. You lived for your kids.”

She then asked everyone to pray for Philip and Kim’s two other children.

The football club where Callum played paid a heartfelt tribute to him.

Johnville FC took to Facebook to say they are “absolutely heartbroken and devastated” by what happened to him and his family.

He had been with the club for five years, starting out in its academy before progressing through its underage teams from U11 to U14.

They said “it is incredibly difficult to comprehend that a family we knew so well has been taken from us in such tragic circumstances”.