Vigil held in Castlederg for murder victim

SEVERAL thousand people have attended a vigil in Castlederg to remember local man Conor Browne who was murdered in a stabbing incident at the weekend in the town.

Local Parish Priest, Fr Paul Fraser, said it was a sad occasion as they stood in solidarity with each other and with the family, who joined the vigil via a remote videlink. The event was also attended by Rev Peter Ferguson who helped lead the prayer service.

“Our presence here is probably more important than anything that we might say,” Fr Fraser said.

“The outpouring of grief that has been evident in our community over the past number of days bears witness to how much Conor Browne was loved.

“We have felt overwhelmed by sadness and loss, shocked indeed that such a thing could happen in our wee town. But happen it did and in the small hours of Saturday morning the tragic events unfolded just a few steps from where we are standing.

“Our sense of shock and loss is nothing when compared to what is being felt by Conor’s family. This evening we gather to send a message of love and support.

“We want them to know that as a community we are united with them in sorrow. Conor was a friend to everyone and we want his friends to remember Conor and his smile and that hopefully will help them over the pain of what they witnessed here on Saturday morning.

“While Conor was fighting for his life in hospital in Belfast, the whole communty here in Castlederg and Aghyaran and beyond stormed heaven with prayers for Conor and his family. We prayed for one thing – that Conor would survive and recover. It wasn’t to be and we might think that our prayers were in vain.

“But I can tell you that Conor’s family have gained great strength from knowing that they had the support of our prayers and our thoughts and that has helped them to cope up to this point.”