Hundreds of mourners attended a vigil for the three children murdered in their own home at the weekend. Mum Margaret Cash broke down in tears as she paid tribute to her three youngsters on Monday evening.
Twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley, eight, and their sister Lisa Cash, 18, were killed in their home in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght, with their bodies discovered by officers at roughly 12.30am on Sunday (September 5). The twins had been stabbed to death and reportedly thrown out a window of the property, with older sister Lisa found with stab wounds at the bottom of the stairs.
Brother Andy Cash, 24, has been charged with the murder of his siblings, the Mirror reports. He was brought before Dublin's Central Criminal Court at a special late night hearing yesterday (September 6).
Margaret Cash McDonagh burst into floods of tears as she was led away from the vigil on Rossfield Avenue this evening. The family stood in front of a huge poster featuring pictures of the slain children and a large display of flowers, cards and well wishes that were left outside the scene of the crime which shocked the country.
And shortly before half five, pink and blue balloons were released into the air as music played and the crowd stood silent. The children’s mother was seen crying and being supported by mourners during the emotional vigil.
Earlier in the day dozens of school children had arrived at the scene to place flowers as they paid their respects to the slain children. The local priest said the community was reeling from the loss - and he described what happened to the children as “evil.”
“I celebrated mass here about half 10 and only then the news started filtering through about what had happened," he said. “People started reacting in terms of the shock and dismay at such a violent and horrendous act that’s taken place here in such a small and tight knit community.
“Mass was quiet yesterday because of the shock people had. There’s no adequate amount of words that’s going to put peoples hearts and minds at rest at the moment.
“We opened up the church here this morning and have it open all day for the community to come in and say a prayer or light a candle. A lot of parents came in here before school this morning and lit a candle.
“We are offering a bit of healing. On top of that it’s about offering a listening ear and indeed a shoulder to cry on.
“An act like this is unnatural. It really is unnatural and it’s an evil act and that will have its lasting effects on peoples hearts and minds for a time to come."
Meanwhile at St Aidan’s Community School, where tragic Lisa attended and did her Leaving Certificate, students were united in grief. School Principal Kevin Shorthall described how students and staff were trying to come to terms with Lisa’s loss.
“The school is very calm this morning. It’s quiet, there’s a little bit of I suppose numbness and shock," he said.
“We were on the intercom a lot and speaking to people and telling people to just go with that calmness. We are just trying to keep things calm in the school today, and let’s just try and do as much of the normal stuff as we can."
Mr Shorthall said support was being given to grieving students, as he said there are many who knew Lisa who didn’t attend class. He added: “I suppose you’ve two sides to it, you’ve the people who are directly connected and they’re not here and they probably won’t be here for a while and then you have people who have less of a connection who walked past the house or witnessed something or whatever it might be.
“We’ve got a responsibility for them as well. So we’re going to face this and keep every thing else in mind as well.”
Paying tribute to Lisa, Mr Shorthall told how she completed her Leaving Certificate at the school last year. “Lisa was a student here. She left in 2021, did her Leaving Cert in difficult circumstances," he said.
“She was obviously doing her leaving through Covid. I do know her and I know the family but I suppose I’ve been getting messages from all our staff on just telling me stories about her, how good of a student she was, how sincere she was, how calm she was, how quietly diligent she was and a lovely, lovely girl.
“She was very popular. A great big sister, a lovely person”.
Meanwhile authorities in the local St Aidan’s Senior National School, where the tragic eight year old twins were due to start third class this week, asked for privacy as they try to deal with the tragedy. It comes as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris also spoke, saying support will be given to officers who attended the harrowing scene.
“It’s one of the worst incidents that I’ve heard of or come across in my service," he said. “We have put in place appropriate support for them, but we’d also acknowledge very much the trauma visited on the local community in terms of the shock of this incident and the subsequent grief. And that can’t be underestimated either."
Describing it as “sincerely the most dreadful incident”, he renewed an appeal for information. He said: “We are obviously now engaged in an investigation, and so it’s limited what I can say in respect of that.
“I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of Rossfield Avenue in the early hours of Sunday morning - 12.30am. If they haven’t spoken to Garda already, they should contact my colleagues in Tallaght”.
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