Elected members of Donegal County Council took a brief adjournment this morning as a mark of respect to two teenagers who died in a drowning accident at Lough Swilly earlier this month.
As the plenary meeting began in Lifford today, councillors paused to remember Emmanuel Familola (16) and Matt Sibanda (18), who both lost their lives after getting into difficulty after going into the water to retrieve a football at the beach in Buncrana on Saturday, 10th May.
Emmanuel Familola, a native of Nigeria, was laid to rest in Cockhill cemetery on Saturday 17th May.
Buncrana Councillor Fionán Bradley said that his hometown “seems to have to bear more than its fair share of tragedies”.
He praised the local community for rallying around the grieving families of the boys, who were both living in separate international protection centres.
Cllr Bradley said: “The community always puts the shoulder to the wheel and that was very evident from early on with the vigil organised on the Sunday evening attracting an absolutely massive crowd to St Mary’s Oratory to simply be there in solidarity with the families.”
Cllr Bradley also took the opportunity to thank the emergency services, the Coast Guard, RNLI and many volunteers in their own crafts and yachts on the Swilly that evening.
Cllr Bradley said that every person was “doing their very best to find the two boys and bring them home safely and unfortunately, that wasn’t to be on this occasion.”
Cllr Bradley also highlighted the role of parish priest, Fr Francis Bradley, saying: “in times of tragedy, time and again, the clergy of Donegal have shown that they step up to the plate and Fr Bradley has had to do that on many occasions now in Buncrana. He was there from very early on supporting the families and the refugee community in Buncrana.”
Cathaoirleach Niamh Kennedy agreed to the adjournment, commenting that all members stand in solidarity with the families of Emmanuel Familola and Matt Sibanda.
