'We want their deaths to help other women'

The surviving family of the late Clodagh Hawe and her three sons have started an online fundraising campaign in their memory.
At the time of going to print yesterday (Tuesday), the appeal for domestic violence charity, Women’s Aid, in Clodagh’s name, had already raised almost €11,000 through more than 250 donations.
The online 'EveryDayHero’ page was launched at the weekend with the goal of raising €50,000 for the charity.
Spearheaded by Clodagh’s mum, Mary Coll, and sister Jacqueline Connolly, they describe Clodagh, a former primary school teacher at Oristown NS near Navan, as “strong and beautiful inside and out and was so loving”.
Clodagh (nee Coll), her husband Alan Hawe and the couple’s three children Liam (14), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) were found dead at their Castlerahan home last August in an apparent murder-suicide.
A Garda spokesperson yesterday said: “This matter is currently under investigation by gardaí and the local Coroner’s Office.”
The tragedy has prompted Clodagh’s surviving family to launch the campaign in their sister and daughter’s memory. “She was warm, loving, bright and capable and she was bringing her boys Liam, Niall and Ryan, up to have those same qualities. They will live on and her strength will live on.
“We want their deaths to help other women who are living in fear and isolation in their own homes. So please support our fundraising appeal for Women’s Aid,” say Clodagh’s mum and sister.
One in five women in Ireland experience some form of domestic abuse and Mary and Jacqueline say the work Women’s Aid do can make a “life-changing difference”.
Clodagh’s death is one of six in the county in the past 10 years where it’s alleged that women were killed by a male partner or a man known to them.

No refuge in Cavan
Last year The Anglo-Celt revealed that regional domestic abuse support charity Tearmann admitted to being unable to provide refuge services to 364 victims of domestic abuse, more than one-a-day, due to pressures on their service.
Almost 250 women in Cavan and Monaghan turned to Tearmann in 2015, the highest level since the service began in 1999.
Despite growing pressure on the government in recent years, there still remains no emergency refuge accommodation in either Cavan or Monaghan, with the nearest centre located in Navan, Co Meath or Dundalk and Drogheda, Co Louth.
Women in the west of the county, meanwhile, are directed to Mayo, Galway and Donegal, and domestic violence services admit they often have no alternative but to turn away the victims, accepting many will not return a second time for help.
Donors to the Women’s Aid funding page in memory of Clodagh have responded to the touching gesture by her family by posting their own messages of support.
Jacqueline and Mary hope the campaign will help raise not only funds but awareness too of an often unseen occurrence in many Irish homes.
“We hope the donations made in Clodagh’s name will help them be there to listen, to believe and to support women - every single time,” they say.
Women’s Aid runs the 24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800-341-900, which is a confidential service for women affected by domestic abuse.