HEARTBROKEN dad Andrew McGinley has revealed his wife Deirdre called him to pick up their children for their weekly shop after they had already died.
Andrew recalled finding his three children in the house, and said that it’s something he will “never ever recover from”.
The tragic children Conor, nine, Darragh, seven, and three-year-old Carla were killed by their mum Deirdre Morley at their home in south Dublin on January 24, 2020.
She was later found not guilty of their murder by reason of insanity.
Speaking to Brian Dowling on his podcast Death Becomes Him, devastated Andrew said: “I can’t forgive how my children died, I don’t think I ever will. And that’s difficult, and it may put me at odds with people, but I can’t.
“At the end of the day the lives of my children were taken.
“Maybe someday I will, but it’s all the stuff that surrounds how the children died. There are so many complications.”
TRAGIC DAY
The heartbroken dad-of-three recalled the heartbreaking events of the day his children died, as he first found out that his partner Deirdre had tried to take her own life.
He only realised soon after that the children were not with their childminder, but were in the house.
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He said: “I had actually spoken to Deirdre on a number of occasions that day because a friend of mine, his father passed away Friday evening, which is usually the day that we did the big shop, and I used to bring the three kids out.
“I had rang her a couple of times chatting about that, about how I was going to fit in going to the wake, and this was after she had taken the children’s lives. The conversations were normal.
“To try and process that is impossible because I’m a very logical and practical person, and I just can’t understand that.”
‘CAN’T COMPREHEND’
Andrew explained the agreement was that he would pick up the kids after the wake.
But the dad added: “For Dee to be telling me that about coming to pick up the children knowing that they were dead, to try and understand that state of mind, I can’t comprehend it”.
He said: “I did get a phone call because as it came out in the trial, Dee had tried to take her own life and had collapsed outside, but I was actually on my way back out to the house.
“When I arrived, paramedics were there the fire brigade were there, everybody was there.”
FATHER’S HEARTBREAK
Andrew then recalled the heartbreaking discovery that his children had passed away, as at first he had hoped Deirdre just turned on a film for them to watch.
But the devastated dad’s worst fears were confirmed when he walked over to the house and found a note inside the door.
He said: “I looked and I saw Conor in the front room. I went over to him and then straight beside him and you’re hoping for life, you’re just hoping that there’s signs of life.
“Somebody had obviously alerted the paramedics and they came running in, and I remember her for nearly 10-15 seconds she just turned to me and she was in tears. I remember her just shaking her head, so I knew he was gone.”
He then recalled thinking about kids Carla and Darragh, and discovering them upstairs after officials were told to “let him go”.
Andrew added: “That is something that I will never, ever recover from.”