Leaving Cert student who died after car entered river was voted ‘smiliest person' in her year
Tipperary
was voted the 'smiliest person' in her year, her requiem Mass has heard.
Brónagh English
's car left the left the road at Kilaldry Bridge in Kilmoyler, Cahir and entered the river Aherlow last Thursday at about 10pm. A Garda sub aqua team recovered the 18-year-old's body on Friday morning.
At her requiem Mass at St John the Baptist Church in
Clonmel
on Tuesday, her father Michael said she had planned to leave the house for just 20 minutes on the evening she died.
'And that was the end of our Bró. She was a wonderful child. We loved her to pieces,' he said. He said he and his wife Danielle noticed 'something special about her in the early days'.
READ MORE
'We never had [the] terrible twos. We thought, 'she is going to be a terrible teenager surely', and then she got to 13 or 14 and we thought, 'maybe she was a late developer in teens', and still no problem,' he said.
'She lived in the present. She was fun right now. She was in the moment.'
He thanked his daughter's close-knit group of friends, who are nicknamed 'The Rats,' for all the joy they had brought to their home over the years.
He was joined on the altar by his wife Danielle, who thanked the emergency services for being 'beyond amazing' in the aftermath of the crash.
Brónagh's sister Mia said her sibling had been her best friend.
'Brónagh was so funny, with a great imagination. Chinese on a Friday with some weird food combinations. Having Brónagh [as] my sister was really the dream. We will always carry you with us day by day and mile by mile,' she said.
Chief celebrant at the Mass, Fr Peter Ahearne, said Brónagh had 'radiated friendship' and lit up every room she entered.
'Brónagh lived a full life. She was involved in sport, music and dancing. She gave her time to her friends.'
Her two brothers, Mikey and David, were among those who recited Prayers of the Faithful.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
In pictures: Emergency services rushed to scene after truck blaze in Lucan
Emergency services were rushed to the scene after a truck carrying aerosol cans burst into flames in Lucan on Wednesday morning. There were no injuries following the terrifying moment the truck caught fire in Lucan village near Brookvale, with dedicated crew members attached to Dublin Fire Brigade springing into action to extinguish the inferno. Explosions could be heard as the blaze occurred in the HGV that was carrying aerosol cans. Footage shared of the scene on social media shows thick smoke billowing from a truck engulfed in flames as emergency services attend. Onlookers stood by capturing the moment and expressing their shock. Pictures from the aftermath show the truck completely burnt out as debris covered the road. Dublin Fire Brigade urged motorists to avoid the area as they temporarily shut the road to tackle the fire. A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade warned: 'Temporary road closure in Lucan Village near Brookvale as we deal with a HGV fire. Avoid if possible'. Gardaí confirmed they assisted emergency services with the blaze on Wednesday. A Garda spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: 'Gardaí were assisting fire services at the scene of a truck on fire on the Lucan Road this morning, Wednesday, 30 July." Check out our picture gallery below as emergency services tackle the blaze, or see our homepage for more stories. Emergency services at the scene of a truck fire on the Lucan road in Dublin (Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.) 1 of 9 The truck fire occurred this morning on the Lucan Road, close to a petrol station in Lucan Village 2 of 9 Dublin Fire Brigade has asked motorists to avoid the area if possible as it responds to the fire (Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin) 3 of 9
The Journal
6 days ago
- The Journal
Inis Oírr message in a bottle could help solve mystery of missing Taiwanese fishermen
ON THE COAST of Inis Oírr ten days ago, two men on a work trip were examining rock pools about 200 yards from the Plassey shipwreck when they came across a clear glass bottle that appeared to contain a scrolled message. The two, Matthew Laming and Chris Hurley, pulled it from the water and took a few pictures of it, curious, and then brought it back to the bar they had been occupying with others. The bottle was sealed with a flaky, floral-scented wax, Laming said, and it was firmly sealed shut. Matthew Laming Matthew Laming 'We tried to get the message out of the bottle, but we couldn't,' Laming told The Journal . 'So another friend ended up smashing the bottle to get the message out.' A video taken of the men opening the message shows them in a busy bar carefully pulling a waxed cord from the paper. 'Did you find this?' a friend of theirs off-screen asks. 'Sure I thought you were sending it.' Once the message was out, it revealed itself to be written in thick black ink in another language. 'We tried to translate the message, and it seemed to be like an SOS type message. But we kind of just dismissed it as a hoax,' he said. 'We didn't really believe it, but we thought it was interesting anyway, so we posted it up on Reddit, and that's kind of when it kicked off.' Matthew Laming Matthew Laming Once it was posted on Reddit, hundreds of people grew fascinated with the story, and made the link between the curious message and the crew missing from an abandoned Taiwanese fishing boat. On 1 January, 2021, a Taiwanese fishing boat by the name of Yong You Sung No. 18 was reported missing by its owner after they lost contact with the boat's captain. According to local media, the boat was a commercial Taiwanese tuna longliner. It was located by an American rescue aircraft about 606 nautical miles northeast of Midway Atoll. The captain, whose surname is Li, and his nine Indonesian crewmen were not on board the ship. Advertisement 'Photographs taken from the plane showed that the windows of Li's cabin had been damaged and that the lifeboat was missing. The rescue team suspected that the crew had successfully escaped after the ship was hit by large waves,' Taiwan News reported in 2021. The message found by Laming and Hurley roughly translates to the following: 'PLEASE SEND HELP!' 'WE ARE LOST SINCE 12/20″ 'THERE ARE 3 OF US HERE' 'WE DO NOT KNOW THE NAME OF THE ISLAND' 'INJURED'. Beneath it are the words 'HELP HELLO SOS', followed by a Chinese symbol that translates to 'LI' – the surname of the boat's captain. At the bottom of the note is 'YONG YU SING 18″. A comment on a Taiwanese news channel on Youtube said the bottle appears to be a Stella Artois Cider bottle, Laming said, which he agrees could be possible. The product hasn't been available in Ireland for the last number of years and its production has heavily reduced due to poor sales since 2021. 'If this is a hoax then it's still most likely four to five years old,' Laming said. Laming says that he still has a healthy degree of scepticism towards the authenticity of the message, but after users on Reddit pointed to the unsolved mystery of the missing fishermen, he decided to hand it in to local gardaí. Matthew Laming Matthew Laming And what if it is real? 'As unlikely as it is, that's one of the reasons why we really handed it in, you know, what if? You'd always be thinking. Then if you didn't hand it in, if there were trapped somewhere… you'd always be thinking, wouldn't you?' In recent days, the story has been picked up by Taiwanese media. 'We've just seen all the clips that's been on TV over there for however long. It's in all the newspapers over there,' Laming said, adding that it's been the 'talk of work' since the potential connection has been realised. When asked about the note being handed in, a garda spokesperson said: 'Gardaí in Co Galway received a report of an item found at Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, at approximately 4pm on 19th of July 2025.' The Taiwanese Embassy in Ireland has been contacted for comment. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Extra.ie
24-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Could message in a bottle that washed up on Aran Islands be linked to ship crew that went missing?
A message in a bottle that washed up on the Aran Islands could be linked to a ship crew that went missing over four years ago. While messages in a bottle are nothing new, some have washed up recently with sweet messages; from containing a sweet love story that washed up in Kerry after 13 years, to a man's ashes who was on a worldwide journey that appeared in Australia. However, one person who was on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands may have uncovered an unsettling mystery after a bottle washed up on the coast, with a message being inside. A message in a bottle that washed up on the Aran Islands could be linked to a ship crew that went missing over four years ago. Pic: Reddit The bottle was sealed with a cork and wax, and after eventually being able to open it by smashing it, the message — which was in Indonesian — said that there were three people injured and stranded on an island that wasn't specified. The bottom of the note read 'Yu Sing 18' and after some people Googled Yu Sing missing, they found a news story of an identically named ship that went missing on the Pacific Ocean over five years ago. 'Wow. If you look it up there are quite a few news articles,' one person wrote on the Beach Combing subreddit where the initial discovery was found. 'There's also a Wikipedia and nothing (I can find) saying anyone from the ship was found.' The message, which was written in what is believed to be Indonesian with a Chinese character, may have been linked to the crew of a stricken Taiwanese vessel over four years ago. Pic: Reddit 'If this ends up being real and not a prank, maybe the right people would be able to use the location the bottle was found, where Yu Sing took off from/where they were trying to go and our knowledge of ocean currents to figure out what island they might be stranded on,' another added, while the person who discovered it said that they were handing it in to authorities. The commercial Taiwanese tuna longliner was reported missing on January 1, 2021 after the captain, surnamed Li (which was also written on the note) lost contact with the boat's owner. The vessel was reportedly found following an American search and rescue mission, but a life raft and the crew were missing. The ship was towed back with sustained damage, with people reckoning that such a message washing up in Ireland is definitely not a prank. However, some people believe that due to the timeline, hopes that the crew will be found alive are slim. While nothing's been confirmed or denied, many believe that it could be linked to the crew who were never found. Pic: Reddit 'It's most likely that the crew are dead since it's been so long and according to the note they were injured,' one person commented, while another added 'It's been 5 years they're dead. But maybe the bodies can be found and returned to the families.' 'Not to sound like joyless fun police but honestly idk how someone would do this as a joke,' another person commented. 'Real people with entire lives and family members and friends that miss them are still gone and making a fake SOS message in a bottle is… a choice.'
