Beloved teacher and mother Clodagh Hawe and her three sons Liam, Niall and Ryan are to be buried together with their father Alan Hawe, who murdered them before taking his own life.
As the community in which the family played an active part struggles to comprehend the tragedy, their friends and family have continued to voice their shock and disbelief at the actions of the man they describe as a ‘brilliant dad’.
Yesterday Clodagh’s sister Jaqueline Connolly shared a photo of her sister and her husband on their wedding day and a link to an article detailing how the Gardaí are working hard to uncover a picture of Mr Hawe’s mental health before he killed his wife and children. Above the shared post Ms Connolly wrote:
“A bit of truth at last!
“RIP our wonderful Alan, Clodagh, Liam, Niall and Ryan we love you all our angels.”
A close family friend told the Irish Independent: “There were no money issues in the family and he did not have any mental health issues, that is simply not the case.”
The remains of all five members of the Hawe family are due to be removed from Drogheda Hospital and taken to Finnegan’s Funeral Home in Cavan Town, where the local community are invited to pay their respects between 3pm to 8pm on Friday.
Their funeral mass, reserved for close family and friends only, will take place on Saturday at St Mary’s Church, Castlerahan. Mr Hawe was a vice principal at the nearby Castlerahan National School, where his sons Niall and Ryan attended as pupils. Clodagh Hawe was also a teacher and worked at Oristown National School.
The person who raised the alarm, having discovered a note which said ‘Don’t come in, call the Guards’ placed inside the glass of the back door of the Hawe home, was Clodagh’s mother. The children’s grandmother had driven to the house, where she was due to look after her three grandsons, after phoning several times and failing to get an answer.
Gardaí who entered the bungalow in Barconey Heights near Ballyjamesduff, discovered the grim scene. The bodies of all three boys, wearing their pyjamas, were discovered upstairs, while the bodies of their parents were found in separate rooms downstairs.
It is believed Alan Hawe murdered his wife first before attacking his sons. He then hanged himself. A knife and a hatchet have been removed for forensic examination and Gardaí continue to search the family’s home for clues.
The contents of a sealed letter believed to have been written by Mr Hawe have not yet been disclosed to the family. Reports suggest a number of other messages written by the Mr Hawe are also being examined alongside a mobile phone owned by his son Liam.
If you or anyone you know is affected by this story, free-phone the Samaritans now on 116 123.
