The three three young children of a mum who vanished and died during a hen do have marked their first Mother’s Day without her.
Ruth Maguire's grieving sister has paid tribute to the 30-year-old, who was found dead in a lake after a night out at a friend's hen party.
Today was particularly heartbreaking for the family of much-loved Ruth, who died in Carlingford, Co Louth, Ireland, last month.
Ruth’s sister, Rachel Wilkinson, said Ruth was a great mum, devoted to the three young children she had with fiance James Griffin, the Irish Mirror reports.
Ruth, who was due to marry James in August, was buried in her wedding dress,
The family is focused on rallying round James and the three young ones, including Tyler, 10, Lydia, six and five-year-old Oliver.
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“We’re just trying to help each other,” Rachel said on RTE Radio One’s Sunday with Miriam.
“Obviously the main focus is on James and the three children.
"We’re just trying to rally around them, and it’s obviously very sad, especially today on Mother's Day and there are going to be events coming up like the kids’ birthdays.
“We’re just keeping them happy and get them back to their routine as much as possible,” Rachel continued.
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“It’s obviously so difficult because Ruth was so hands on and she had them in so many activities, so we’re just trying our best to keep on what Ruth had started.”
Ruth, who was “the baby of the family,” was “great fun” but also the most sensible of the siblings, and always the designated driver, Rachel said.
She hadn’t planned a hen party for herself. So the weekend away, in which she tragically died, was a rare occasion for Ruth.
It was “so out of character” for Ruth to not return home, Rachel told show host Miriam O’Callaghan.
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With a result of the inquest possibly not available until next year, Rachel says the family may never know how she ended up in the water.
“She wouldn’t have ever gone to a party somewhere else or she wouldn’t have met up with a different crowd,” Rachel said.
“She just wouldn’t have done that she was a home bird she would have just wanted to go home.”
Rachel called for barriers to be erected around Carlingford pier to prevent another tragedy - but they’ve been told the city council cannot move on this until after the results of Ruth’s inquest.
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“Even so much as a child could run out chasing a ball, there’s no barrier there whatsoever,” said Rachel.
“There’s a wall leading to the pier and even that’s quite open. A gust of wind and a child could be in the water.
“The only problem is [a] councillor said they have it wait until after the inquest and we’re told that could be next year.
In the interim this could happen to another family. This could be somebody else’s sister, somebody else’s daughter.”
