Vigil held for murdered parents and brother

A candlelit vigil has been held for three people murdered in County Louth earlier this week.

Louise O’Connor, who was 56, her 54-year-old husband Mark O’Connor, and their 27-year-old son Evan O’Connor, who had additional needs, were found dead at their rural home in Drumgowna on Monday morning.

Gardaí (Irish police) said they had suffered “violent deaths”.

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, was among the hundreds of people who turned out at Stonetown Community Walking Track on Wednesday evening to remember them.

Prayers were led by Fr Gerry Campbell, who said the community was carrying a sorrow too heavy for word, the Press Association has reported.

He added the deaths have “sent ripples of grief across our parish and across this land and into the hearts of all who have heard their story”.

Mr and Mrs O’Connor actively campaigned for better services for autistic people in their community.

In 2003, they were among a small group of parents who helped to set up Drogheda Abacas Special School in County Louth and Evan was one of its first pupils.

On its Facebook page earlier this week, staff at the school paid tribute to the family, expressing the “deepest sadness” over their deaths.

“Evan attended Abacas for 14 years. He grew up with us,” the school said.

It added that Mr and Mrs O’Connor were “passionate advocates for their son Evan and for all autistic people”.

“They campaigned, lobbied and fundraised for the school and youth clubs and will always be remembered for their legacy to Abacas and to autistic people.”

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin expressed his “deepest sympathies to the wider O’Connor family and community at the appalling killings”.

He added that it was a “really sad and shocking event and our thoughts are with all concerned”.

On Tuesday, another of Mr and Mrs O’Connor’s sons, Robert O’Connor, 31, of Drumgowna, appeared before a special sitting of Drogheda District Court charged with three counts of murder.

Judge Stephanie Coggans remanded the accused in custody to appear before the same court again via video-link on Monday 6 October.