'Whatever it was, they must have felt very alone'

The family: Aidan Dunne's mother and brother talk to Carl O'Brien.

The family:Aidan Dunne's mother and brother talk to Carl O'Brien.

Dressed in black and numbed with shock, Mary Dunne is sitting in front of a small coal fire and struggling to comprehend how she lost four family members over the weekend.

"I'm devastated, completely heartbroken. I'm trying to put a brave face on it for the rest of the family," she says, as she grips her daughter's hand.

"It was bad enough to lose my son James last month, but now I've lost my son, my daughter-in-law and my two lovely grandchildren. They say you shouldn't have to bury your children - well, you certainly shouldn't have to bury your grandchildren."

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Crowded into the sittingroom of the small family home near New Ross, Co Wexford, other family members and friends are still coming to terms with the deaths of Adrian and Ciara Dunne and their daughters Shania (3) and Leanne (5).

Their grief is also tinged with anger over what they see as the failure of State authorities to contact them when concerns were first raised on Friday evening. Adrian's sister Bridget says it was an opportunity lost for the family to intervene and potentially avoid the tragedy.

"If they had told us, we'd have gone down to the house and we wouldn't have left for the whole weekend. There's no way we'd have allowed that to happen."

Mary remembers hearing about how social services weren't available to help Sharon Grace and her two daughters before they died two years ago. Now, she says, her family has been failed by the same system.

"I thought that case was terrible, I couldn't understand why they didn't do something about it. I never for a moment thought we'd be affected by something like that. Nothing seems to have changed." The Dunne family say there wasn't even the faintest warning in previous weeks as the tragedy unfolded on Monday morning.

Adrian had been his normal self, they say, talking about sports and how the Wexford hurlers would do this year. Ciara was the same vivacious person who would light up a room when she walked into it with her pulsating personality.

Among the last to speak to Adrian was his brother Sebastian (18) last Saturday evening.

"He was slagging me about girlfriends, because I never seem to hold on to one for that long, and we were talking about the result of the matches," he recalls. "He also told me about a job going as a caretaker. The last thing I said was that I'd talk to him later."

Sebastian recalls discussing suicide with Adrian, at the funeral of their brother James (30), just under a month ago, but it was only to firmly rule it out as an option. "He told me that he'd never do anything like that. He said he'd never be able to do it and, anyway, he wouldn't cause even more grief for Mammy."

Some relatives have discussed the possibility of a suicide pact between Adrian and Ciara. As difficult as it is to contemplate, Bridget thinks it is a serious possibility. "I don't think Adrian would have done that on his own, it may have been a joint decision between the two. There's no way he'd have done it on his own. They were extremely close."

His brother says only something like the fear of being separated from their children or having them taken into care could have prompted their actions, but there is no evidence this was considered by social services.

Adrian and Ciara's marriage appeared to be a perfectly normal, loving relationship.

They met in their early 20s while taking college courses in Stillorgan in Dublin about seven years ago. Ciara was doing a childcare course, Adrian was finishing a communications and journalism course.

Adrian was visually impaired, suffering from a hereditary eye condition, but it had never prevented him fully enjoying and participating in life. The Dunnes had been taught by their mother to look beyond their disabilities and live the same lives as others.

"We've always been an open family here, we talk about everything," says Mary, "but whatever it was, they must have felt very alone. I do feel more could have been done. There are still so many unanswered questions."