Vigil held in Buncrana for teenage boys

A vigil has been held in memory of two teenage boys who died after getting into difficulty in the water near Buncrana in County Donegal.

They have been named locally as 16-year-old Emmanuel Familola, originally from Nigeria, and 18-year-old Matt Sibanda, from Zimbabwe.

Hundreds of people attended the special service at St Mary's Oratory in Buncrana which was led by the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown.

He began the service by welcoming Matt and Emmanuel's family.

Bishop McKeown said there was a "real palpable sense of gloom hanging around everybody today".

However, he said he was struck by the number of people who turned up for the service.

He said the Buncrana community pulled together in the face of tragedy, which he said showed their strength, but he also highlighted their welcome of people from abroad to the local community.

"They are strong looking inwards and supporting one and another, and strong looking outwards welcoming newcomers and that's a real blessing on everybody," he said.

Irish government minister and Donegal TD, Charlie McConalogue, was among those who attended the service and said the news had come as an "absolute shock".

"The community came out, really really strongly for the prayers service here, to try and provide some support and comfort to their families and friends," he said.

"We've had our share of tragedies over the years in Inishowen and Buncrana and unfortunately it has visited two families here again."

Mr McConalogue said he would work with the local community and liaise with the families and schools to ensure they received support.

Miriam Killeney lives in Buncrana and attended the service.

She said many in the community are still in shock about the incident.

"It was such a beautiful day and suddenly we got the news, the town has suffered tragedy in the past, so for a lot of people it brought that back up again for them," she said.

"That is going to be something that will be very important going forward to support the children in the school and the parents."

The tragedy unfolded on Saturday afternoon after the Irish Coast Guard received a report that there were a number of people in difficulty in the water.

Later that evening, an 18-year-old male's body was recovered from the water.

A juvenile who was rescued from the water was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, where he died in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A third teenage boy managed to make it back to shore.

Evelyn McLoughlin principal of Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana, where Emmanuel attended, said there were "no words" that could "fully capture the pain and sorrow that we are feeling".

"We are truly heartbroken," she said.

Paying tribute Ms McLoughlin added: "Emmanuel embodied the true ethos of Scoil Mhuire, he was known for his warm personality, gentle humour and thoughtful nature.

"He immersed himself fully in our school community and was highly regarded by staff and students alike."

She added that the school will provide support for Emmanuel's brother, who is a student there, "through his unthinkable loss".

Kevin Cooley, principal of Crana College, where Matt attended, added: "As beautiful as today is, there is a dark cloud of sadness over Buncrana.

"Matt joined Crana College in January 2024, he was welcomed with open arms," he said.

"He was preparing for his leaving cert at the start of June. He was a determined young man, he was the most respectful young man you could ever meet.

"We share our thoughts and prayers to the families."

Mr Cooley also thanked the emergency service for their efforts.

Speaking to BBC News NI, local priest Fr Francis Bradley said: "You can only imagine they [the families] are absolutely devastated.

"It's difficult to witness, but powerful to witness a mother's love, her feeling of total abandonment.

"Last night, a mother sitting cradling her son, I've looked at the Pietà, but to see it brought alive in that way is very moving.

"To hear her call out his name, even though there was no hope, to know all I could do was stand in silence in the hope that there was a good shepherd calling his name.

"Here we do not view them as immigrants or asylum seekers, to us they are parishioners."

Joe Joyce from Lough Swilly RNLI said when they got the call they immediately launched two lifeboats.

"One of the teenagers managed to make it back ashore," he told BBC News NI.

A former RNLI crew member, who was on the lough in his own personal boat, assisted the incident.

"He came on scene and and pulled another 16 year old out of the water.

"Around nine, half nine, we were starting to scale down the search as we lost the daylight and the Coast Guard had their drone team up.

"An object was detected in the water. That object turned out to be a person, an 18-year-old teenager.

"He was recovered by the Coast Guard to the pier in Buncrana, where a doctor on scene pronounced him dead."

The mayor of Inishowen, Sinn Féin's Jack Murray, told BBC News NI the community is "devastated."

"On what was such a happy day, Donegal won the Ulster Championship, the Sun was shining and then that filtered through, the worst news possible that these two young men have lost their lives, it is horrendous," he said.

Paying tribute to the two teenagers, Murray said they were "of different nationalities from Africa, who were talented young boys".

"It is just so sad that their lives could be cut short so tragically," he said.

"This is a community that has been visited by tragedy far too often," he added.

"I would like to think and hope that their families know that we are all thinking of them."

100% Redress councillor Joy Beard said people in the area are in "shock."

"We are absolutely heartbroken," she said.

Beard added that Buncrana is a "strong community" that will "rally around" the families.

She also paid tribute to the emergency services and coast guard.

Fianna Fáil councillor Foinán Bradley said that the three teenagers involved in the incident "came to Buncrana a number of years ago with their families" and that they had "integrated really well into the community."

He added they were "known by many people here in Buncrana" and the community was "very, very fond of them".

He described the community as "numb" following the incident.

"There is a very sombre air over the whole area this morning."