A doctor who went missing in Donegal in 2009 has been declared dead.
Dr Deirdre Donnelly’s car was found at Kinnego beach and notes to her three children were found in her holiday home nearby.
Under new laws in Northern Ireland, Mrs Donnelly, who was from Co Tyrone, can now be officially declared dead.
Until 2009, the family of a missing person would have to wait seven years for such a declaration, possibly entangling families in financial and legal bureaucracy.
The High Court in Belfast heard how Dr Donnelly suffered from depression.
Mr Justice Deeny ruled that it was proved to the court’s satisfaction that Dr Donnelly entered the sea on January 11th 2009 and subsequently drowned.