US soldier had Mayo roots

Tragic US soldier had Mayo roots

Edwin McGreal

THE Irish soldier killed last week while serving for the US Military in Afghanistan had strong Mayo roots and had visited relatives in the county on numerous occasions.
Ciara Durkin (29) of Annaghvane, Lettermore, County Galway was killed in action last Thursday and news of her tragic death caused great sadness in the Tourmakeady area, from where her father, the late Tommy Durkin, hailed. The late soldier has an aunt, Rita Brennan, still living in Tourmakeady, while all four of her grandparents have connections with the Gaeltacht village.
Ciara was serving as a finance officer with the 726th Finance Unit of the Massachusetts National Guard and had been based in Afghanistan since November 2006. Prior to her deployment to Afghanistan, Ciara had been living in Quincy, Massachusetts, where her family had moved, from Connemara, in 1986.
Her father Tommy, though born in America, was brought up in Tourmakeady where his father, Tom, was the local postmaster. He married Angela Cloherty from Lettermore whose parents Dick and Nora (nee Boyle) both had strong roots in the village. The Durkins had nine children, five boys and four girls.
Conor O’Malley, a family friend from Lettermore, said the news was overwhelming.
“Her family are devastated. My wife was with relatives of Ciara’s when they heard. They burst into tears. It’s the way a lot of people are feeling at the moment. It’s very sad.”
The family moved from Annaghvane, Lettermore to Boston in 1986. Tommy Durkin, who had been a national school teacher in Connemara, passed away within months of moving to the USA but his wife Angela was a regular visitor to Tourmakeady where Tommy’s sister Rita was the postmistress until 2004.
Ciara also called to Tourmakeady with her mother on the occasions she visited Ireland and three of her siblings, brother Tomás and sisters Áine and Angela, are currently living in Ireland.
The Massachusetts National Guard said that the incident was under investigation in accordance with US Central Command policy, and arrangements were being made to fly the body back to the US.
No arrangements for her funeral have yet been made.
The American military has been engaged in an ongoing battle with Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Ciara’s death is being probed by the US Military.