Prayer service to be held in County Clare for mother and children

A prayer service will be held on Sunday in County Clare, for a mother and two children killed in a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide in County Fermanagh.

Vanessa Whyte, 45, her 13-year-old daughter Sara Rutledge and her 14-year-old son James Rutledge died after they were shot at their Maguiresbridge home on Wednesday.

Ms Whyte was originally from Barefield, County Clare.

The prayer service will take place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the village at 19:00 BST.

The shooting happened in a rural area about 75 miles (121km) west of Belfast and about eight miles from the county’s largest town, Enniskillen.

Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene on Wednesday morning and a third died later in hospital.

A man – who is a member of the same household – is being treated for serious gunshot injuries at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Police said no arrests had been made and it was not anticipated that any would be made.

They added that the investigation was at an early stage, but a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives.

On Saturday, police issued an appeal in relation to the movements of a silver Mercedes between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler on the day before the shootings.

Ms Whyte was an experienced veterinary surgeon, at the time of her death she was employed by Stormont’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

But before taking that role, the mother-of-two spent about eight years working at Lakeland Vets in Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh.

Practice manager, Julie Wood said Vanessa was an “enthusiastic, hard-working colleague” and a “devoted mum” to Sara and James.

Both children attended Enniskillen Royal Grammar School and were members of local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) teams and Enniskillen Cricket Club.

A book of condolences opened on Friday morning at Maguiresbridge Primary School, where James and Sara previously attended.

A vigil was held in the primary school grounds on Friday evening.

Enniskillen Royal Grammar also opened its doors on Friday for staff and pupils to meet and write in a book of memories about James and Sara.

Principal Elizabeth Armstrong said the school had been left “stunned and shocked at the loss of two wonderful young people”.

“They were just full of life, they were both such lively and intelligent, funny young people,” she said.

In a social media post, St. Joseph’s Doora-Barefield GAA Club said they were “shocked” and “saddened” to hear of the tragic passing of Vanessa and her two children.

It said the Whyte family had a “long association” with the club and Ms Whyte herself had been a “very accomplished camogie player”.