'We were reminded that the world is full of good and kind people'

The family of tragic Clodagh Hawe and her three sons, who were killed by their husband and father at their Cavan home last August, have thanked the people of Oristown for their kindness, as an online fundraising campaign in her memory takes off.

Within just hours of going live, the appeal for domestic violence charity, Women’s Aid, in Clodagh’s name, had raised almost one fifth of its target sum of €50,000 but they are desperate to increase that figure.
Meanwhile Clodagh’s Mum, Mary Coll has thanked the people of Oristown for the warm and kind welcome they received at a recent mass for Clodagh (pictured above) and her boys. “It also reminded us that the world is full of good and kind people,” she said.
Clodagh was a very popular teacher in Oristown National School and the principal and staff of the school, pupils present and past, parents, Clodagh’s friends and the entire community came together at the mass celebrated by Fr John O’Brien to celebrate Clodagh’s life and pay tribute to her. 
In a letter to the Meath Chronicle this week, Mary said “while it was heartbreaking for us and her extended family and friends, we got comfort from it. We felt it was the first time in the two months since the deaths of Clodagh and her three beautiful boys that we could focus on our loss together with all those people who knew and loved her. We want to say a big thank you to all involved.”
Mary and her daughter, Jacqueline Connolly, launched a fundraising campaign for Women’s Aid at the weekend in memory of Clodagh who they describe as “strong and beautiful inside and out and was so loving”. 
Launched at the weekend, the online ‘EveryDayHero’ page has already received a good number of donations, totalling at time of going to print, almost €10,000 of its €50,000 goal. The family are hiopfeul that people will continue to support the fund.
Clodagh (nee Coll), who was married to Kilkenny-native Alan Hawe, was found dead along with the couple’s three children Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) in an apparent murder-suicide at their home near Ballyjamesduff.
The tragedy has now prompted her 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.