Irish families travel to Thailand for tsunami memorials

FAMILY members of three of the four Irish victims of the tsunami attended the official memorial ceremonies in Thailand yesterday.

Parents and relatives of Michael Murphy, 24, Lucy Coyle, 29, and Conor Keightley, 30, chose to travel for interfaith services organised by the Thai government.

However, the family of the fourth victim, Eilis Finnegan, 27, wished to avoid the large-scale, though deeply moving, ceremonies and will instead travel to Thailand early in the new year.

“It will be too hectic,” Ms Finnegan’s mother, Eileen, said prior to yesterday’s events.

Similarly, while Mr Keightley’s father Dermot travelled to Thailand with other family members, his mother, Teresa, preferred to remain behind in Co Tyrone.

“I feel at home with Conor in the house, closer to him here,” Ms Keightley said.

She and other relatives attended an anniversary Mass and released a pair of doves in memory of Mr Keightley near Lough Neagh.

The four Irish victims were among around 1,950 foreigners killed when the tsunami struck Thailand.

As a gesture of gratitude for the assistance given to the country by the international community in the aftermath of the disaster, the Thai government offered to sponsor flights and accommodation for survivors of the tsunami, and direct family members of those who were killed.

It is understood that the Thai government invited one member from each of the four Irish families to travel to yesterday’s ceremonies.

The Department of Foreign Affairs then stepped in with funding of €5,000 per family to ensure at least one other relative could travel.

“It’s a tough journey for a person to make on their own, particularly in such tragic circumstances,” a department spokesman said.

“That is why the minister (Dermot Ahern) allocated 20,000 for the families.”