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'We will all share the loss': Tributes paid to Irish students tragically killed in balcony collapse

A book of condolences is to open in Dublin tomorrow.

PastedImage-92419 Eoghan Culligan, Eimear Walsh, Nick Schuster (top row), Olivia Burke, Lorcán Miller and Ashley Donohoe Facebook Facebook

TRIBUTES HAVE BEEN pouring in for the Irish students killed after a balcony collapsed at a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, California.

Niccolai Schuster (21), Eoghan Culligan (21), Eimear Walsh (21), Olivia Burke (21), Ashley Donohoe (22) and Lorcan Miller (21) were celebrating a 21st birthday party when the fourth-floor balcony collapsed.

A further seven people were injured, some are believed to be critical.

The first family members of the bereaved arrived in Berkeley last night. Others are travelling this morning.

All the students were confirmed as J1 students visiting California for the summer on working visas. Many of the students were students from University College Dublin (UCD)

Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. A fifth was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital. The sixth death was confirmed at about 5pm yesterday.

Friends, former schools and clubs of the young victims have been paying tribute to those who tragically lost their lives yesterday.

Ballyboden St Enda’s confirmed that Eoghan Culligan was a member of the GAA club since childhood.

He was part of the Minor A football team who were beaten by Castleknock in the Dublin county championship final in 2011.

In a statement, the club said: “He continued to play football with both the Intermediate and Junior teams. Eoghan was very popular with his team mates and this tragic news is keenly felt by all members of our Club, but especially by those players and mentors who knew him well.

We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to his parents Gerry and Marie and to his brothers Stephen and Andrew and to all the extended Culligan family.

“May we take this opportunity of extending our sympathies to all the families of Eoghan’s friends who also lost their lives in this terrible tragedy and to wish those who are injured eventual recovery to full health.”

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Foxrock Parish opened the doors of its church last night to allow family and friends to gather for a vigil for the six young men and women.

Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was played and the church bells rang at 9.30pm and midnight to honour cousins Olivia Burke and Ashley Donohoe and Eimear Walsh.

People lit candles, prayed and expressed their shock.

Fr Frank Herron, who said he knows one of the families well, offered his sympathies to all the families involved and remembered those who are still injured in California.

In the early hours of the morning, the parish posted on Facebook:

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A number of the students studied in UCD and its president Andrew Deeks expressed his heartbreak at the loss.

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The national flag will fly at half-mast at all government buildings today.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, will open a Book of Condolence for the victims of the balcony collapse tomorrow morning.

The public will be able to sign it at the Mansion House on Dawson Street in the capital on Thursday from 10am – 4pm and Friday from 10am – 4pm.

UCD is opening a book of condolences online at UCD.ie where students and the public can share their sympathies.

Additional reporting from Sinéad O’Carroll

Updates: The Irish students killed after a balcony collapsed in California have been named>

Read: Irish students killed in balcony collapse named by US authorities>

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29 Comments
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    Mute Thomas Hannigan
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    Jul 25th 2013, 7:20 AM

    Councillors and ex TDs walk from corruption charges,and not one column reporting this..The silence is deafening,, ,,,,,,

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Jul 25th 2013, 8:10 AM

    True Thomas.

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    Mute the lost lenore
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    Jul 25th 2013, 9:25 AM

    Incroyable! The Journal runs an opinion piece that’s not about sexism. Give yourselves a pat on the back, that must have been difficult.

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    Mute Little Jim
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    Jul 25th 2013, 11:28 AM

    Typical male attitude.!

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    Mute the lost lenore
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    Jul 25th 2013, 11:31 AM

    I demand a quota system to redress the gender imbalance of this thread.

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    Mute Emily Elephant
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    Jul 25th 2013, 7:55 AM

    It’s nuts to think that you can entrust decisions about people’s liberty to 12 unqualified people, and at the same time not trust those 12 unqualified people to look at the evidence presented in court rather than media hysteria.

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    Mute Enola Straight
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    Jul 25th 2013, 8:08 AM

    Unqualified? Do elaborate.

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    Mute ieoinu
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    Jul 25th 2013, 7:19 PM

    I disagree, the jury system is not without its faults but it is the fairest system there is. The principle of interpretation of our laws is based in that of the reasonable man and that when tried you are judged by your peers. If you have qualified people on a jury (by qualified people trained to do the task, familiar with laws, procedures etc basically quasi judges) you remove this element of the reasonable or normal person. The example I would give would be Padraig Nally, he did everything needed that a professional jury would have been quite right to convict him of at least manslaughter. However a jury of his peers (seeing things they their own eyes and drawing from their own experiences) acquitted him albeit on a retrial.

    Now a professional jury drawing a wage and living in middle Ireland may not be able to draw on such experience or perspective and arrive at the same conclusion. My experiences come from the prosecution end of things and seeing cases fall because of a jury’s verdict is aggravating and frustrating but it has to be respected, it is what protects all of us from all of us.

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    Mute George Barwood
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    Jul 26th 2013, 1:19 AM

    I’m in some kind of battle with the UK Press Complaints Commission, re Daily Mail comment policy on a recent high profile US case.

    http://jodi-arias.wikispaces.com/Daily+Mail+complaint

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Jul 25th 2013, 8:58 AM

    Fergal,
    Proposed legislation for “Family Law” and “whistleblower protection” will create new offences where information disclosed relating to decisions made in unaccountable courts.
    Judicial accountability is key for those who would decide on what is in the public interest.

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    Mute itiswhatitisMF
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    Jul 25th 2013, 8:37 AM

    Bankers and the elite and politicians have one law the rest have another. 2 tier system.

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