ONE of three victims in a Fermanagh shooting is Barefield native, Vanessa Whyte.
Vanessa and her two children, James and Sara were killed at their home in Drummeer Road in Maguiresbridge, Fermanagh on Wednesday. The incident has shocked the country and as word emerged later that night and into Thursday morning of the Clare connection it has exasperated the sadness.
Investigations into the suspected triple homicide which took the lives of Vanessa (45), James (14) and Sara (13) are underway, the PSNI have confirmed. A man who is a member of the same household is being treated for serious injuries at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
At a press conference on Wednesday, a senior police officer said the investigation was at an early stage, but a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives.
On Thursday, Enniskillen Grammar said it was mourning “the loss of two vibrant and much valued pupils. I know that our school community will hold each other close in this time of loss,” school principal Elizabeth Armstrong said in a statement.
A veterinary surgeon with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Vanessa is a graduate of UCD.
Despite moving to Fermanagh, Vanessa remained a staunch supporter of Clare GAA and was in Croke Park last July as Tony Kelly lifted the Liam MacCarthy as the county were crowned All-Ireland champions for the fifth time. She attended many games of both codes involving Clare all over the country and travelled to the Gaelic Grounds on occasion to watch the county senior footballers in Munster championship action.
She was actively involved with St Patrick’s Lisbellaw hurling club in Fermanagh.
Her love of the GAA is shared across the Whyte family. Her late father Joe who died in 2016 was part of the first St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield panel to win the Clare senior hurling championship in 1954.
Both of Vanessa’s brothers Ivor and Stephen represented The Parish at all levels while she herself played for Doora/Barefield at all grades on the camogie field. They worked on honing their skills in the nearby Ballyline field.
According to one St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield member, the Whyte family have always been involved in the GAA and leading figures in the club. “The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Vanessa and it was no surprise that she remained so involved with the GAA in Fermanagh”.
“She was a very open and friendly person, she was very involved in the community but that was the nature of the Whytes, they were always involved in the club and the community, she continued that when she went to Fermanagh,” a family friend told The Clare Echo.
Vanessa is survived by her mother Mary, siblings Geraldine, Regina, Anita, Ivor and Stephen along with her many friends and extended family.
St Patricks Lisbellaw Hurling Club said all three were “active and beloved members of our club and will be desperately missed. We are working with the GAA at county, provincial and national level, to implement the association’s critical incident protocols,” they said.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill (SF) and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP) expressed their shock at the tragedy, “We are deeply saddened by the events which have unfolded in Maguiresbridge”. They added in a joint statement, “Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims and their families, and the wider community. We want to pay tribute to and thank our emergency services who responded to the incident”.
