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BBC News
22-03-2025
- BBC News
Charlotte Murray: 'Not having my sister's body prolongs grief'
"Every morning you wake up wondering will today be the day that we find her body?"This is a thought that Sinead Corrigan has been living with for more than 12 sister Charlotte Murray went missing in 2012 and her body has never been 2019 her former partner Johnny Miller was convicted of her a rare interview Charlotte's sister, Sinead, has been speaking to BBC News comes as her family continues to campaign for a change in the law in murder cases where killers conceal the location of victims' bodies. The legislation - dubbed Charlotte's Law - has already been out for public consultation and there are plans to introduce it to the Northern Ireland Assembly within the next proposed law outlines a series of measures that it is hoped could encourage killers to volunteer information about where victims' remains includes potential reduced sentences for those who disclose the location of a victims' remains and longer prisoner sentences for those who do not. Charlotte's story Charlotte Murray was originally from Omagh in County for the final years of her life she had been living in the village of Moy with her partner at the time, Johnny is currently serving a life sentence for her murder with a 16-year tariff imposed in sister told BBC News NI that not knowing where her sister's body is continues to have a profound impact on her family."Charlotte was a strong woman, I would say she was definitely free spirited and she was a kind person," she said."We're a big family, Charlotte was one of 11 children, it's had a huge impact on every single one of us, it has taken it's toll on everybody, it's hard to move forward when we don't even have a grave to visit." Charlotte was last seen alive in October 2012 and her family have been trying to find her ever have been a number of high-profile searches for her Corrigan said the idea for Charlotte's Law came about after her family found out about legislation in England and Wales that followed the disappearance of 22-year-old Helen McCourt in Merseyside in killer Ian Simms was freed from jail without disclosing the location of her now Helen's Law places a statutory obligation on the parole board to take into account an offender's non-disclosure of certain information when making a decision about their release from prison. Ms Corrigan added: "On the one hand you don't want to give the people that have hurt your loved one anything, we knew that we needed to have an incentive for offenders in some cases."But really it's about giving the victims and their families what they need, because not knowing where you loved one is, that is something I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy." 'Heinous crime' Charlotte's family also hope any new legislation could help lead to the location of her body and are building in proposals that could be applied retrospectively to cases that have already been through the Minister Naomi Long said the aim is that Charlotte's Law will build upon the work of Helen's Law and help bereaved families in Northern to BBC News NI, Ms Long said: "We know that not having a body to bury can really impact on the mental health of a family and on their ability to grieve properly."It's something we discussed at length with bereaved families because things like reductions of tariffs of those convicted of such heinous crimes is always an extremely sensitive issue."The Justice Minister added: "With Charlotte's law we wanted to bring forward incentives at each stage, from arrest to sentencing and with that there will be a sliding scale in terms of the impact it would have on tariffs, depending on how early the information is released." "Even when they're in prison, they may have had time to think about the enormity of their situation and suddenly they have second thoughts, and they might give up that information and that could entitle them to a slight reduction in their tariff," Long Murray's family have also worked closely on the campaign with relatives of Lisa Dorrian, who disappeared in body has also never been month on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, for the first time police released CCTV footage which was filmed just days before Ms Dorrian's disappearance. Sinead Corrigan said it's her hope that other families will not have to endure the same experience."It's been a long road and we've been blown away by the support from politicians and families like the Dorrians to help us raise the profile of this issue," she added: "Obviously you don't want any family to be in the situation of losing a loved one to murder, but if that awful thing does happen, we hope Charlotte's Law will help in the journey to bring their loved ones home."Charlotte's Law is to be included as part of the Sentencing Bill, and is expected to have reached Stormont committee stage next year, before coming law.
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
St Patrick's Day: Armagh woman teaches Irish on Canadian TV
Teaching Irish is no problem for Clíodhna Ní Chorráin, a fluent speaker who has passed on a cúpla focal (a few words) to students from around the doing it live on TV for Canada's national broadcaster ahead of St Patrick's Day? That was a real "pinch me" moment for the County Armagh woman."It's one thing to teach Irish in Canada, but to teach it on national television to the entire country – that was something else," she told BBC News came about after a CTV producer discovered her Irish language content on TikTok – and helped gain Clíodhna's work national attention. Clíodhna's TV appearance sparked a wave of interest in learning Irish, and she received messages from viewers asking if she could teach is an Irish language instructor at the University of Ottawa, and there is a waiting list for her class every is all part of a growing interest in the language in Canada, which is home to the only officially sanctioned Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) outside of almost 15% of Canadians claiming Irish heritage, many are keen to reconnect with their roots. "Irish belongs to everyone," she said."When you are in North America there are no political ties to the language - everyone loves it because it is cool and unique."Clíodhna's interest in Irish started in secondary school, where she instantly fell in love with it."I could not believe we had this thing that I had never heard of."After studying Irish and Spanish at Queen's University Belfast, she landed scholarships to teach Irish abroad, firstly in the US and then Ottawa, she has taught more than 230 undergraduate students over two years. Her students come from diverse backgrounds."I have Chinese, Arab, Indian and Australian students."It is a really mixed bag."Clíodhna says she loves to teach students in Canada the language as "they grab it with both hands and own it". One of those students is Gabriella Moro, 23, whose great-great-grandparents have roots in Dublin and Antrim."My favourite thing about learning Irish has to be how warm, friendly, and open the community are and the pride they have in the language," she said. Clíodhna believes the reason for the high interest in learning Irish overseas is twofold."There is a huge Irish diaspora in Canada, but many have lost the language along the way," she said."It's like a lost thread but learning the language can weave it back into their Irish identity." Clíodhna also believes it is part of a wider global movement to reclaim indigenous and minority languages, a point that is echoed by another one of her students, Elizabeth Jerome, 23, who has both Indigenous Canadian and Irish roots."Canada is very much a melting pot of backgrounds and nationalities and reclaiming old languages is a big thing right now," Elizabeth told BBC News NI."It is surprising to see interest in the Irish language spreading and everyone I tell says: 'Wait, can I learn too?'" Beyond university classes, Clíodhna also runs a weekly session in an Irish pub, where students range from university graduates to people in their demand for Clíodhna's classes shows no sign of subsiding."There's no way I could teach all the people who have asked me to," she added."We just need more people to come over and teach Irish."
