Berkeley balcony collapse victims remembered with memorial plaque
The six students who lives were tragically lost in the Berkeley balcony collapse of 2015 have been honoured in a special ceremony.
Niccolai ‘Nick’ Schuster, Eimear Walsh, Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Lorcán Miller and Ashley Donohoe were remembered at the service in California.
A memorial plaque was unveiled in their honour, which featured a quote from James Joyce: “They lived and laughed and loved and left.”
Amb @DanMulhall:”I would like to pay tribute to the first responders, medical staff and our wonderful Irish community who provided such fulsome support for everyone affected, especially the young people and the families directly involved”. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/VTE37noRgF
— Embassy of Ireland USA (@IrelandEmbUSA) July 21, 2018
The plaque reads:
“Berkeley, named after an Irish philosopher, will forever remember the six young adults from America and Ireland, guests in this city, who tragically died near this spot in a balcony collapse at 2020 Kittredge Street early in the morning of June 16, 2015.
“Here, the families of those who passed and the community of Berkeley have joined hands to establish a permanent memorial.”
The families of the six students attended the moving service. They recently marked the third anniversary of the horrifying accident on June 16.
Plaque to honour Irish students who died in Berkeley by @suzannelynch1. Speaking ahead of the unveiling, Amb @danMulhall recalled the deep sense of “grief, shock and sorrow” felt in the wake of the tragic event which had an “enormous effect on Ireland” https://t.co/OIeJiMxjC9 pic.twitter.com/0rNRPYAVIE
— Embassy of Ireland USA (@IrelandEmbUSA) July 21, 2018
Speaking of the tragedy, Ireland’s Ambassador to the USA, Daniel Mulhall said: “The Berkeley balcony collapse of June 2015 was a terrible tragedy and one which had an enormous effect on Ireland. The depth of grief, shock and sorrow was immense – six young lives so tragically and prematurely ended and serious injury inflicted on so many.”
“I would like to pay tribute to the first responders, medical staff and our wonderful Irish community who provided such fulsome support for everyone affected, especially the young people and the families directly involved,” he added.
