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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Kerry island's music festival to feature eight concerts across four days
Organisers have promised something for everyone at this year's festival, which will be attended by guest artists from countries including the USA, Taiwan, the UK as well as Ireland. As well as many other events, the celebration will feature eight concerts over four days. The opening concert, at the Church of St John the Baptist on Thursday, August 14, will focus on 'The Kerry Polka and More'. The event will see string quartets from Bohemia and Scandinavia collaborate with acclaimed Irish musicians, concertina player Jack Talty and fiddler Ultan O'Brien. That concert will be followed by 'Silk & Strings', which will see renowned pipa and guqin player Chia-Yin Hung perform music from southeast Asia. The following day, at the Church of Immaculate Conception in Knightstown, will see 'Music By The Sea' take place. This concert will see tenor Gavan Ring perform, accompanied with strings and piano. A family concert will be held at Valentia Island Lighthouse on the morning of August 16, before the much-loved Musical Map experience, featuring short pop-up free events around the island, takes place. The 'Folk Effects' concert will take place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the evening of August 16. It is billed as an evening of folk-inspired melodies with music by Arnold Bax, Brahms, featured Irish composer Siobhán Cleary and operatic areas by Gavan Ring and the festival's string artists. This event will be followed by another late night session, with songs from Arvo Pärt and Philip Glass, billed as two giants of modern music. A lunchtime concert will take place on August 17, at the Church of St Dorarca and St Teresa, in Chapeltown. It promises a unique fusion of eastern and western musical traditions. The festival finale concert will be held that evening at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, where Vivaldi's concerti for strings, alongside gems from the chamber music repertoire, will be performed. The Chamber Music on Valentia Festival will take place at venues across Valentia Island from August 14 to 17.
Irish Independent
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Funeral details announced for former Roscommon footballer Don Connellan
The 51-year-old father-of-two passed away suddenly on Monday following an illness. His passing has been greeted with shock and sadness throughout Galway and Roscommon. The former garda will repose at his home in Drumaveg, Moycullen, County Galway on Wednesday, August 6, from 4 pm to 8 pm. His requiem Mass will take place on Thursday August 7tat 12 noon to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Moycullen. He will be laid to rest immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Predeceased by his father Donal, Don Connellan is survived by his wife Linda and their two sons, Eoin and Conor. He is also sadly missed by his mother Ellen (Nellie), brothers Adrian and David; mother-in-law Mary Clancy; his sisters-in-law Jacinta, Catherine, Ailish, Johanna, Laura, and brothers-in-law Paul, Gearoid and Gareth; his nieces and nephews Rachael, Cathal, Lilly, Jamie, Lily, Luke, Ellen, Finn, Mason and Cooper; aunts and uncles, cousins, the extended Connellan and Clancy families; his colleagues and friends in An Garda Siochana and the GAA community in Kilmore, Roscommon, Moycullen and Galway. Moycullen GAA and Kilmore GAA have paid glowing tributes to Mr Connellan, who played with the Roscommon senior team throughout the 1990s and won a Connacht title with them in 2001. His home club, Kilmore GAA. described him as 'an exceptional person' who 'who lived his life with the utmost integrity'. As well as enjoying a lengthy career with Roscommon at every age grade, Mr Connellan featured in three Roscommon senior county finals for his club. After moving to Moycullen, he spent six seasons in charge of the Moycullen GAA's senior team, guiding them to an All-Ireland club semi-final in 2022 before stepping down in 2023 due to health difficulties.
Sunday World
02-08-2025
- Sunday World
Village comes to standstill to honour mother and children who died in suspected triple murder-suicide
Vanessa Whyte (45) and her two children, James (14) and Sara (13), had been planning to spend a short break in her native Barefield over August bank holiday Hundreds gather at Clare church ahead of funerals of mum and kids killed in Fermanagh shooting It was a homecoming forged from heartbreak for a proud Clare community. Vanessa Whyte (45) and her two children, James (14) and Sara (13), had been planning to spend a short break in her native Barefield over the August bank holiday weekend from their Fermanagh home. Instead, the mother's coffin was flanked by those of her two children in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the small village just 6km from Ennis. The village has been left numb with shock by the scale of the tragedy that has struck a well-respected local family. Ms Whyte and her two children died from gunshot wounds inflicted at their Maguiresbridge home in Fermanagh on July 23. The man suspected of the triple shooting, Ian Rutledge (43), was discovered by PSNI officers at the property with gunshot injuries. He died in hospital on Monday. The PSNI believes Mr Rutledge, who was Vanessa's husband and the father of James and Sara, shot his family. Ms Whyte is survived by her mother, Mary, and her siblings, Geraldine, Regina, Anita, Ivor and Stephen. All poignantly followed the three coffins as they were carried on the shoulders of family, friends and GAA clubmates into the Barefield church at 2.15pm today. The village came to a standstill as the cortege wound its way from the Whyte home to the village church, with hundreds lining the main street as a mark of respect. Mourners gathered outside the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Barefield in Co Clare this afternoon. Photo: Eamon Ward The church that had hosted Ms Whyte's first holy communion and confirmation will today stage her requiem mass and those of the son and daughter she adored. Yesterday evening was the opportunity for locals, neighbours, friends, former classmates and GAA clubmates to try to console the inconsolable. Outside the church, a lengthy queue of mourners wound across the churchyard, down to the gate and out past the manicured roadside verges and flowerbeds of the picturesque village. Many mourners wore the saffron and blue of Ms Whyte's beloved Clare The three flagpoles outside the church flew the colours of the Republic, Clare and St Joseph's Doora-Barefield at half-mast. All three hearses parked in parallel on the main street outside the church – with floral tributes all in either Clare or Barefield colours. Hundreds of mourners wore bright colours to honour the family's request for a special visual tribute to Ms Whyte and her children. News in 90 Seconds - Saturday, August 2 Local shops and houses put flowers in their windows as a mark of respect. Many mourners wore the saffron and blue of Ms Whyte's beloved Clare. He coffin was covered by the maroon and white colours of the local St Joseph's Doora-Barefield GAA club with which her family is so entwined. Ms Whyte wore the same colours as a child in juvenile competitions while her late father, Joe, was a lifelong GAA player and fan. He was intensely proud of the fact he was a member of the very first St Joseph's Doora-Barefield panel to win the Clare senior hurling crown 71 years ago Two of Ms Whyte's brothers, Stephen and Ivor, played for Doora-Barefield and members of the Whyte family would attend virtually every match, both juvenile and senior, played by the club. The remains of Vanessa Whyte, draped in a Doora/Barefield flag, and her children James and Sara are carried to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barefield, Co Clare. Photo: Eamon Ward Ivor is now based in Australia but flew home immediately after he heard of the tragic death of his sister, nephew and niece. The GAA club will provide a guard of honour for the funeral – and officials assisted with stewarding as locals rallied to show solidarity with the Whyte family. In the queue, grown men – probably fearless on the hurling pitch – fought in vain to hold back tears as they sympathised with Ms Whyte's devastated family. The three coffins were brought into the church with symbols of the three young lives – ranging from a family photo to hurleys, GAA jerseys and a bag of balloons in the colours of Ms Whyte's beloved Clare. Ennis parish priest Fr Tom Ryan welcomed the remains into Barefield church. Today's requiem mass will be led by the Bishop of Ferns and former Killaloe priest, Gerard Nash. It is difficult to speak about and comprehend Parish priest Fr Tom Fitzpatrick last week echoed the words of Fr Raymond Donnelly at the service of removal in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, when he said the community had been shaken to its very core by the loss of a devoted mother and two beautiful children. Fr Fitzpatrick said people locally were struggling to come to terms with what happened. 'It is difficult to speak about and comprehend – or to get our minds around,' he said. Like Fr Donnelly, he assured the Whyte family they were not alone and that the community would rally to support them in their hour of heartbreak. 'What affects an individual or a family in a parish affects everyone,' he said. 'Everyone here is walking in the shadows of the cross with you.' Vanessa Whyte with her children Sara and James. Photo: PA Some mourners had parked just up the road from the Church of the Immaculate Conception by Le Chéile cafe and Hassetts Bar on Barefield's main street. Every time she returned to Barefield, Ms Whyte called to Le Chéile for a coffee, a snack and a catch-up on local news with her Clare friends. Now, mourners used the adjacent car park as they went to offer sympathy and solidarity to Vanessa's devastated relatives and tried to make sense of a tragedy that wiped out an entire young family. Some mourners wept as they waited to extend their condolences to the extended members of the Whyte family, who are one of the bedrocks of the proud community. Others simply stood in disbelief at how a planned joyful August homecoming could be transformed into one of such devastation. In Barefield, some took comfort in remembering the incredible woman that Vanessa was – and how she adored her children James and Sara. Vanessa was an incredible student, a great sportswoman and was always full of fun All three will be buried together after noon requiem mass today at nearby Templemaley Cemetery. Those shocked by the tragedy have also been asked to consider making a contribution to Women's Aid. Ms Whyte attended Barefield primary school – about 1km from the church – and then went to Coláiste Muire in Ennis. Former Barefield national school principal John Burns said the entire parish was in shock at the tragedy. 'Everyone in the parish is absolutely heartbroken – Vanessa was an incredible student, a great sportswoman and was always full of fun.' Vanessa Whyte with her teenage children Sara and James 'She was an incredible student and was one of the stars of our table quiz team.' He said Barefield was a very proud parish where everyone would now unite to support the family in their time of need. 'Everyone here will be there for them.' She was an honours student and, for her Leaving Cert in 1998, scored top marks, easily securing her dream course of veterinary studies in University College Dublin (UCD). 'We are deeply shocked by the news,' Scoil Muire principal Jean Pound said. 'Our thoughts are with Vanessa's family at this most difficult time.' Ms Whyte graduated from UCD in 2003 and began a career as a vet. She worked for a time for Lakelands Veterinary Services before taking up a position with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture in Enniskillen. Locals remembered her as an honours student and someone who adored sport, especially her beloved Clare senior hurling team. Vanessa was thrilled to be in Croke Park last year when Clare won the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Mourners follow the hearses containing the coffins of Vanessa Whyte and her children Sara and James following their service of removal at St Mary's Church in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh. Photo: PA Barefield locals pointed to the fact that so many of the images in the media over the past week had been of Ms Whyte in Clare colours, proudly standing beside her children. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy said it was deeply upsetting that yet another murder-suicide/attempted suicide had left an Irish community devastated. 'It is so, so sad that we are dealing with another tragedy like this in Ireland,' she said. Cllr Colleran-Molloy said it was 'beyond words' that yet another young Irish mother and her children had died in such horrific circumstances. 'My thoughts are with the family. This is a very strong community and people will rally together to support this family in every way they possibly can.'
Sunday World
29-07-2025
- Sunday World
Funeral arrangements for wife and two kids killed in Fermanagh after husband dies
Those attending the funerals of Vanessa Whyte and her teenage son James Rutledge (14) and daughter Sara Rutledge (13) in Barefield on Saturday have been asked to wear bright colours Vanessa Whyte with her son James Rutledge and daughter Sara Rutledge Vanessa Whyte and her two children who were shot dead in Co Fermanagh last week are to be buried together in her home town in Co Clare. Those attending the funerals of 45-year-old Ms Whyte and her teenage son James Rutledge (14) and daughter Sara Rutledge (13) in Barefield on Saturday have been asked to wear bright colours at the service. It follows the death of the only suspect in the murder investigation into the fatal shootings at a property in the Drummeer Road in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday morning. Ian Rutledge (42) passed away at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast as a result of gun wounds. In a social media post, the funeral directors said Vanessa was a 'devoted mother, a loving and beloved daughter and sister and a loving and beloved daughter-in-law and sister-in-law'. It adds that James was a "much-loved son, brother, and grandson" and Sara "was a dearly loved daughter, sister, and granddaughter". Vanessa Whyte with her son James Rutledge and daughter Sara Rutledge News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 A service of removal will take place in St Mary's Church in Maguiresbridge tomorrow morning. Ms Whyte and her children will lie in repose in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Barefield on Friday before funeral mass on Saturday. They will then be buried together in Templemaley Cemetery. People have been asked to make donations to Women's Aid. Vanessa and Sara were found dead in their Maguiresbridge home last Wednesday morning. James was taken to the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, but died from his injuries later that day. Mr Rutledge had been in critical care since the shooting. A PSNI statement issued on Monday evening said: 'The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed that a fourth person has now died following a shooting incident in Maguiresbridge.' The statement added: 'Ian Rutledge was taken to hospital on Wednesday 23 July, where he remained in a serious condition. He passed away this evening, 28 July.' Detectives have reiterated their appeal for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Sources had previously said Rutledge had been experiencing depression and that his vision was deteriorating due to an underlying illness. It is understood that Rutledge had returned to live at the family home in Maguiresbridge, having previously moved out following the end of a relationship several years earlier. It is understood the 999 emergency call from the Drummeer Road residence on Wednesday morning was made from the phone of 13-year-old Sara. Police have not yet confirmed who made the call, as the line remained silent during the emergency communication shortly before 8am. However, the call handler was able to hear activity in the background, prompting the alert. Attempts to return the call went unanswered. Emergency services arrived at the house shortly before 8.30am. Police described the scene inside the house as 'harrowing'. A vigil was held for the three deceased family members on Friday, at Maguiresbridge Primary School, which James and Sara were both previous pupils of. A special prayer service also took place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Barefield, Co Clare – Ms Whyte's home village - on Sunday evening at 7pm. Books of condolences have been opened at both the church and at Maguiresbridge Primary School. Earlier on Sunday, a minute's silence was held for Vanessa, Sara and James, just moments before throw-in at the All Ireland senior football final between the Donegal and Kerry men's teams. Text on the screen at Croke Park read: 'Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha' – which translates from Irish into English as: 'May their souls be seated on God's right hand.' It is understood the agricultural contractor is the only suspect in the shooting of his family. Last week, police had said a triple murder and attempted suicide was a line of inquiry.
ITV News
28-07-2025
- ITV News
'Still a huge sense of disbelief' says Mayor of Ennis following death of mother and two children
The Mayor of Ennis in County Clare says, "there's still a huge sense of disbelief" at the murder of Vanessa Whyte and her two children in Co Fermanagh. Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from Co Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, were killed in a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide at a house in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday morning. On Sunday, over 100 miles away from Fermanagh, a special prayer service was held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Bearfield in their honour. Today, Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy revealed they had been planning a holiday to Vanessa's hometown in Co. Clare just this week. Speaking about the recent service she said: "The silence in that church was extraordinary, you could actually hear a pin drop. "I never experienced that kind of silence before. "There still is a huge sense of disbelief, and just really a lot of heartache for the family."Her children would certainly will be remembered here locally from they were due to come down on holidays this week and there's a big family of them Vanessa certainly will not be forgotten and she will not be forgotten by her school friends and the people she grew up with in her community." Vanessa, 14-year-old James, and 13-year-old Sarah Rutledge loved sports, including GAA and cricket. On Sunday during the All-Ireland final at Croke Park in Dublin, they were remembered. Flowers, messages, and a cricket bat have now been placed at the fence of their home in children's father remains in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast with gunshot Saturday, detectives from the major investigation team, who are carrying out the murder investigation, said they are continuing with their inquiries and appealed for information involving the movements of a Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said: 'Our investigation is ongoing and we are working tirelessly to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy.'I would continue to appeal generally for anyone with information to come forward, and more specifically, I would ask anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday July 22 to call detectives on 101, quoting reference 276 23/07/25.'Anyone who was travelling in the area and who may have captured dashcam footage which could assist, please get in touch.'The man who remains in a serious condition in hospital was a member of the same household, the PSNI funeral for all three is expected to take place in County Clare. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.
