‘Our child begged for her life that day: she went off to her debs and all we got back was her dress’

For most teens on the cusp of adulthood, the debs is the single biggest event in their young adult lives. In the McCann household in Clones, Co Monaghan, it was no different. There were balloons, and food and champagne lay spread across the dining table. Cameras flashed as Frankie and Teresa McCann’s 17-year-old-daughter, Kiea, sashayed into their living room looking stunning in her red sequin dress. Kiea and her best friend Dlava ­Mohamed (16) had spent the previous hours excitedly getting ready, having their hair and make-up done for the special occasion. They were laughing aloud as they left the house; Kiea with her debs date, Oísín Clerkin, and Dlava with her older sister Avin, as they were chauffeured to the ball in nearby Monaghan town by family friend Anthony McGinn. However, it was a journey the four never completed. Just a short time after waving them off, Kiea’s parents sat cradling their young daughter on the side of the road. McGinn had lost control of the car and crashed into a tree less than a five-minute drive from the family home. Kiea and Dlava died in the crash on July 31, 2023. Dlava’s older sister Avin sustained serious injuries, while Oísín was the only passenger to emerge with non-life-threatening injuries. Two years on, Frankie and Teresa McCann are still were reliving that night every day. McGinn (62) is two months into a seven-year sentence for causing the deaths of the two teenagers. His BMW was estimated to be travelling almost twice the 80kmh speed limit in the moments leading up to the crash. His court case heard that the teenage passengers in his car had begged him to slow down. As Kiea’s parents mark her second anniversary today, they say they are “haunted” by her last moments. Read the full story here: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news...