'Nobody can fix it for you,' said a distraught Tipperary father after losing his daughter

When heartbroken Tipperary parents, Michael and Danielle English reflect on the life that Bronagh enjoyed they are very much comforted in the knowledge that her life was full of love, joy and happiness.

Their full-of-life 18-year-old daughter died in a road traffic accident at Kilmoyler Bridge last April.

To reflect on the strength of the bond of friendship and support Bronagh had with her four grandparents brings them many happy memories to treasure.

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The strong relationship Bronagh enjoyed with her much-loved Grandad John, who had passed away five weeks before Bronagh lost her life, his wife Carmel and her maternal grandparents Donie and Greta were very much a huge part of her beautifully perfect family life.

“Bronagh was lucky to have four grandparents for her whole life, that does not happen too often. She was loved to bits on both sides. It is not just us, there is a huge network of people devastated by it. They were tremendously happy times. You don’t realise it then, but you realise when they are gone, that’s for sure,” said Michael.

Danielle is from Waterford City; a daughter of Donie Ormonde, who was a former TD and a medical consultant, known affectionately within the family as Dadu, a name created by Bronagh, and her mother Greta, known as Oma, is a native of Belgium.

Bronagh adored all four, and they all adored her, sharing so many wonderful family milestones together.
Christmas was a very special time for Bronagh, and she loved being at the centre of everything going on with her friends and her family.

To add to the excitement, her birthday was on December 18, so December was always a very special and busy month for Bronagh.

“Christmas Day in our house was always a large occasion. It was a really open and warm house, and Bronagh was at the centre of it all. Her friends were our friends. There were always friends coming over, there was always parties,” said Danielle.

“She loved her birthday, she loved the build-up to it in the days going to school on the bus. She had an enormous circle of friends who loved her. On the day of her last birthday in the house, I was dancing with her in front of all of her friends. She was never embarrassed by her parents; we were always included in everything she was doing. She wanted us to be involved,” said Danielle.

The family, she said, had great memories of the Strictly Come Dancing event that Bronagh took part in last November at the Talbot Hotel.

“The four grandparents were at it as well. Bronagh was so excited, and she danced so beautifully that night. She loved dancing. That Strictly was one of her best occasions. She loved dancing,” said Danielle.

The event was held again two weeks ago, and Michael and Danielle were very moved by the decision of South Tipperary Autism to name a trophy that was presented to the winners in memory of Bronagh.

Michael and Danielle said that while it was hard to attend the dance night recently, they were very moved by the gesture to remember Bronagh.

“We are very grateful to the people who put in a huge effort on the night, but it was also heartbreaking that it had to be done,” said Danielle.

They recall that, like every young person, Bronagh tried everything to find what she really loved to do. And found that in dancing.

Bronagh had enjoyed playing hockey and also football with Moyle Rovers and Powerstown National School and loved all of the friendships and social outings that those activities entailed, but found her real passion in dancing and music. Danielle recalls how busy Bronagh was in the build-up to the Leaving Cert and all of the big occasions that went with it.

Danielle and Bronagh had an appointment to fit a dress for her Debs, but had to cancel it because of the passing of her grandfather, John.

“Thankfully, we went for the appointment two weeks later, it was a special mother and daughter day out, and we had something to eat, and it was a beautiful day out in Limerick. We could not wait to see her in the dress. Another dress was bought for the graduation event, and it arrived at the house on the morning of her removal,” said Danielle.

The family made Clonmel their home fourteen years ago, and they live just outside the town near the Bulmers facility on the Waterford Road.

Michael is from a rural farming background. He grew up in Ballytrehy between Ardfinnan and Clogheen playing hurling and football for Ballybacon and Ardfinnan.

Danielle was a secondary school teacher and worked in a school in Castledermot before she and Michael decided that she would stay at home to look after the children.

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“I gave up my career to stay at home with my kids. They had the perfect upbringing,” said Danielle, who said that decision now gives her great comfort as she got to spend so much time with Bronagh.

“We did everything we thought we could to raise them well and keep them safe. We just cannot believe something like this would happen. We always knew what our children were doing. There was a very deep bond with Bronagh, she told us everything,” said Danielle.

“We had a very strong bond with Bronagh, she was one in a million.

“Bronagh was the life and soul of everything.

“She was a wonderful young kid; she was an absolute pleasure of a child.

“We gave her everything, and she gave us everything.

“Bronagh died five weeks to the day after my own Dad passed away. These are very tough times for us all as a family but we get up every day and we try,” said her distraught father, Michael.

He said Clonmel was a wonderful area and the family loved living in Clonmel and were very happy there.

Michael, a businessman, a computer scientist programmer who worked in Dublin and London before coming back to Clonmel, with interests in property and investments, said it was tough dealing with what happened, knowing that it would never get better for any of the family.

“There is no magic pill, no psychology, it is not something that gets any easier, nobody can fix it for you,” said Michael.

“You would not wish what happened on anybody. There is very little anybody can do to help you.

“We have had great support from people in the area since it happened,” said Michael.

Bronagh was going on to study business at UL, and Michael said he enjoyed having Bronagh working with him during the summers.

“Bronagh had a lot of interest in business, in finding out about property, investments, venture capital. She always wanted to do business. She understood it and was very capable,” said Michael.

Thinking about her birthday and Christmas that will come together this December, Danielle said she did not know how the family would cope.

“I don’t know how you get through these occasions now,” said Danielle, who said the family had to cope with being bombarded with what would have been milestone events for her daughter every week since she passed away in April.

“Since Bronagh’s passing, the family has had to deal with emotional occasions such as the presentation of the Jerry McCabe Award in Rockwell College, the graduation events, the Leaving Certificate, the Sixth Year holiday, the Debs, and starting college.

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“She was so excited about everything, and she was looking forward to studying business in Limerick University,” said Danielle.

They were all occasions that Bronagh was denied, and her parents and family were denied watching Bronagh enjoy those occasions in her own beautiful and cheerful way.