A mother who lost five members of her family in a pier tragedy 10 years ago has said it “feels like it was yesterday” as hundreds came out for a memorial walk.
Louise James’s partner Sean McGrotty, their two sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, her mother, Ruth, and her 14-year-old sister Jodie died when their SUV sank after sliding off a slipway in Buncrana, Co Donegal, in March 2016.
The only survivor was four-month-old Rioghnach-Ann, daughter of McGrotty and James.
McGrotty handed his baby daughter through the broken driver’s side window, just moments before the vehicle sank. Former footballer Davitt Walsh, who swam out into the harbour in an effort to save the six occupants, took the baby from her father.
With the 10-year anniversary of their deaths approaching, hundreds attended a memorial walk in Buncrana wearing red and white.
Before the walkers set off, a minute’s silence was held and a family friend sang (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.
James said she felt “overwhelmed” at the support and love from the community.
“Very overwhelmed. It was a fantastic success, it was amazing, the sun came out it was beautiful,” she said.
“Very, very, very overwhelmed.”
She added: “It went exactly how I wanted it to go, with laughter and fun and everyone smiling and remembering them, that’s what I wanted.”
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It is understood the vehicle lost grip on a thick blanket of algae coating the slipway and slid into the waters of Lough Swilly.
There were no signs at the slipway warning of the dangers of slipping, and a gate designed to control crowds using a summer ferry service in the popular tourist spot was left open.
It was used by people watching the sun going down despite dangers, which were highlighted during the inquest in 2017.
James said Rioghnach-Anne frequently come down to the pier to remember their family.
“We come down and we’ll do the walk,” she said.
“This is the walk along the shoreline, so it’s beautiful, you know, it’s a very peaceful walk and Rioghnach will play in the play park, so it’s really nice where her brothers played as well.”
Ten years on, James said the tragedy “feels like it happened yesterday”.
“Still feels like it was only yesterday so it’s very overwhelming but a sadness too,” she said.
Donations for the walk were collected for the RNLI, and the walk finished at Lough Swilly RNLI lifeboat station.
James said “it was lovely” to see the people of “Derry and Donegal” pulling together.
“But not just Derry and Donegal – it was the whole of Ireland, because there was people here from Cork and Wicklow, and so lovely to see them all and just to be here supporting us in what we wanted to do,” she said.
She added: “It was great just to support the RNLI and the good work that they really do. And this is all for them, too.”