HomeTagsPosts tagged with "California"

California

by

The funeral of 21-year-old Eoghan Culligan has taken place this afternoon in Rathfarnham.

Eoghan died in Berkeley, California along with five others when the fourth-floor balcony they were standing on at a 21st birthday party collapsed.

An alumnus of St Mary's College in Rathmines, current pupils from the school provided a guard of honour along with Eoghan's team-mates from Ballyboden St Enda’s GAA club.

During the ceremony, his parents, brothers and friends all spoke movingly. And Eoghan's girlfriend, 20-year-old Sarah McCarthy, a young woman who had attended the nearby Loreto Beaufort secondary school, brought much of the congregation to tears.

Reading aloud a poem she penned herself, she said would mourn the “future we could have had and the memories we could have made”.

She said: "I'll miss our walks in Dun Laoghaire to catch the sun set and I'll miss our ritual of a cup of tea and a biscuit every night after dinner.

"I'll miss the dinner dates and cheeky pints… the hungover days of eating McDonalds for breakfast and Dominoes for dinner.

"I'll miss our seasonal trips to Vienna to visit Andy and T, our walks in Marley Park and how we'd Facetime each other every night before bed.

"I'll also miss texting you every second of the day and how we were the only ones who understood what real music was. 

"I'll miss the way you never left my side and when it was time to say goodbye you'd hug me so tight, tell me how much you loved me and then say goodnight.

"I'll miss you waiting on me patiently without any fuss and how you always made sure I knew no one else in the world mattered except us.

"I'll miss hearing you tell me how amazing we were and how we were put on this earth to be with each other.

"I'll miss how much you loved and the future we could have had and the memories we could have made.

"My soulmate was taken from me but I know you will live on in my heart every day and that you will guide me every step of the way."

Eoghan Culligan's brothers, Stephen and Andy, also addressed the hundreds of mourners in attendance. 

"He was always the one who saw both the common ground and the stupidity of our arguments. He was our translator, our sense-maker, our peacemaker, He was our wiser brother," Stephen said.

Andy said he brought the other brothers closer together as the family grew older, adding: "What's been very apparent to me over the last few days… Eoghan would always be the person I could rely on.

"He was my little brother but he was my big brother at the same time."

Afterwards, Eoghan, a former student at DIT, was brought to Mount Jerome Cemetery for burial.

 

Trending

by

On Tuesday at around lunchtime local time in California (it was past 9pm in Ireland) police authorities named the six young people who were killed in Berkeley: Ashley Donohoe, 22; Olivia Burke, 21; Eoghan Culligan, 21; Nick Schuster, 21; Lorcan Miller, 21, and Eimear Walsh, 21.

They died – four of them by the time emergency services arrived – when the fourth-floor balcony they were standing on collapsed and came crashing down onto the street below.

It is believed that at least seven more J1 students currently remain in hospital suffering from injuries, some of which have been described as “serious or life-threatening”.

The six dead, who would have only arrived in the US in recent weeks, were an exceptionally talented and ambitious group of young people.

Their Irish families are all already en route to California, with most arriving in the late hours of Tuesday and early hours of Wednesday.

 

Olivia Burke, 21

A former pupil of Loretto Foxrock in Dublin 18, Olivia went on to attend IADT Dun Laoghaire. There, she was studying for a degree in business, entrepreneurship and management, and had just finished her third year exams. As part of her course, she had also recently completed a five-month work-experience stint with East Coast FM. Extremely popular and well-liked by her wide circle of friends, she lived with her family in south county Dublin. A fan of TV shows such as Glee and The X Factor, Olivia furthermore enjoyed keeping fit.

 

Eoghan Culligan, 21

Eoghan was studying at DIT. A native of Rathfarnham, he attended St Mary's College in Rathmines and sat his Leaving Cert in 2012. Throughout his school years, Eoghan was a keen rugby player, but GAA was his first love. He was a member of his local club, the well-known St Enda's in Ballyboden, since childhood. He had two brothers, Stephen and Andrew. Eoghan also loved travel, and had been abroad several times since beginning his third-level education. Indeed, just a few months ago, he was in south-east Asia on a trip.

 

Nick Schuster, 21

A classmate of Eoghan's at St Mary's, Nick was sports-mad, and had frequented the popular Pappy's Grill & Sports Bar on Telegraph Ave in the days before his death. Counting rugby, GAA and horse-racing among his interests – he loved Bayern Munich in particular: following the completion of his Leaving Certificate, he even visited the football club to meet his heroes. Studying at UCD prior to his death, he hailed from Terenure in Dublin 6 and his family run the popular Saba Thai restaurant in the capital's city centre.

 

Eimear Walsh, 21

Eimear was immensely bright and popular and had, like Olivia, attended Loretto Foxrock. Due to graduate in 2018, she was studying medicine at University College Dublin. She had one older brother, and lived at home with her parents in Dublin. Her mother, Patricia, originally hails from Westport in Co. Mayo. Earlier this year, Foxrock-native Eimear went on a UCD-organised ski-trip to the French Alpian region of Les Deux Alps.

 

Lorcan Miller, 21

Lorcan was also studying medicine at UCD, and was a former pupil at St Andrew's College in Booterstown. He was a member of the school's Junior Cup-winning hockey team in 2012 and was involved in the Bray Hockey Club. Following his Leaving Cert, he went inter-railing around Europe with his school-friends. Lorcan, who lived in Shankhill, also participated in several charity events during his time in university, raising funds for the likes of cancer research. 

 

Ashley Donohoe, 22

Ashley was the only member of the group who didn't grow up in Ireland. A native of Rohnert Park in California, she nevertheless held dual Irish and American citizenship. Olivia Burke, who also died in the accident, was her first cousin. Something of an adventurer, Ashley had been sky-diving and bungee-jumping. She was attending the Sonoma State University, where she was studying biology, and hoped to peruse a career in the health industry upon graduation. 

 

Trending

by

The authorities in the US have named the six Irish J1 students who died today in California.

They are: Ashley Donohoe, 22; Olivia Burke, 21; Eoghan Culligan, 21; Niccolai Schuster, 21; Lorcan Miller, 21,  and Eimear Walsh 21.

It is believed that their families are already en route to the US and will arrived there later this evening.

The well-known St Mary's College in Rathmines tweeted at around 8.30pm that "many of the students involved" in the tragedy were past pupils who sat their Leaving Certs in 2012. 

RTE News also reported that the young people are thought to be studying at UCD. 

Speaking from California, Philip Grant, Irish Consul General for Ireland, this evening thanked those involved in the incident for their assistance. 

"On behalf of the people and government of Ireland I want to express to you the deep gratitude we have to the city of Berkeley; to the police and the fire services, to the emergency services who responded last night."

He continued: "We have thousands of Irish students who come to the States every summer on an exchange programme – they work here and they gain valuable experience here.

"They get to experience America and it's a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful time in many of these young people's lives.

"For many of my countrymen it's a formative experience and to have this happen at the start of this season is something that has left us all frozen in shock and in disbelief."

He added that for a small country like Ireland "very few had been left untouched" by what had happened. 

As well as the six dead, another eight were injured – some of them seriously – when a balcony on the fourth floor of an apartment building collapsed.

It's believed that the 21st birthday party of an Irish visitor was taking place in the apartment at the time of the accident, which occurred around 12.40am local time (8.40am Irish time).

The building in question has been named as Liberty Gardens, used as student accommodation for UC Berkeley students during term time.

Apartments like this are often rented out to J1 students during the summer months.

More than 8,000 students from Ireland travel to the US annually via the visa programme.

Trending

by

This is one wedding we have been SO excited about.

Former star of The Hills, Lauren Conrad, married William Tell in California over the weekend!

We all know and love Lauren’s style and interior decor, so we can only imagine how beautiful their special day was.

Hopefully soon she will release some snaps and we won’t have to wonder!

The elated couple released a statement to US Weekly, saying: “What a perfect way to start our lives together; surrounded by the people we love most.”

Hmm, somehow we can’t imagine she is including Heidi Montag or Spencer Pratt in that statement…

Ah, memories. 

Lauren and William have been together since 2012 and became engaged in October of last year. 

Congratulations to the happy couple and we can't WAIT to see that dress!

Trending

by

We’ve seen our fair share of proposal stories but this is by far, our favourite.

Brandon Strobhen had waited two months for the right weather to propose to his girlfriend, Nicole Nepomuceno, during a parachute jump above California.

On the way down, Brandon pulled a ring from his jump suit’s pocket, opening the box so his girlfriend could inspect it.  As he was about to hand over the ring, it slipped from his grasp and fell. Poor Nicole looked on horror as the ring fell to the ground.

Turns out that Brandon had the real engagement ring in his pocket and the fumble was all apart of an elaborate prank. The real proposal took place on solid ground where Brandon got down on one knee to pop the big question, to which Nicole accepted.

Trending

by

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson FINALLY tied the knot at a lavish Californian ceremony yesterday.

The actress and singer wed former NFL player Eric Johnson at the stunning San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara.

Jessica and Eric have been dating since 2010, and have two children together: daughter Maxwell, 2, and son Ace, 1.

They had to push back two previously set wedding dates, but have finally walked down the aisle!

In an official statement,  the newlyweds described the wedding as the “happiest moment of our lives”.

They said, “We are overwhelmed with complete happiness and love having made our eternal commitment.

“To say ‘I do’ in front of family, friends and, most importantly, our children has been the happiest moment of our lives.”

So sweet!

More than 250 guests attended the couple’s wedding, including Jessica’s sister Ashlee Simpson and her fiancé Evan Ross, and actress Jessica Alba and her family.

Jessica wore a stunning custom-made pale pink Marchesa wedding dress – which we can’t WAIT to see snaps of!

The Beach Boys 1966 balled God Only Knows also played during the ceremony, as the couple exchanged their vows in a romantic rose garden under a canopy of chevron seating.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Trending

by

According to recent reports, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have finally tied the knot in a private ceremony in Los Angeles last week.

Kanye and Kim had to do marital paperwork in America, before flying off to Paris for their official wedding on May 24th.

One source revealed that Kimye managed to get a “confidential” marriage certificate, as they intend on keeping their first wedding ceremony private. So no one knows for sure when they exactly got married, but the couple are said to be “excited”.

“They signed the papers, it’s a done deal! Kim and Kanye are now married on paper… They got their licence in California over the past few days.”

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Trending

by

The Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival is taking place in California this weekend, attracting celebs from all across the world, including Lindsay Lohan.

Linsday tweeted to her followers that she was heading to the famous festival, this weekend: “Coachella bound w @Uber_Palm…who’s coming with me? See you in the desert xx #Coachella2014”

But many of Lindsay’s friends are concerned, that she might be tempted to return to her old ways at the festival, as it is renowned for its drunken parties.

But the 27-year-old has reassured friends that she is “100% committed to staying clean” at the festival and is well aware of the risks.

However, Lohan made this promise at last year’s Coachella festival, which then followed a court-ordered stint in rehab.

It was also revealed this week, that The Canyons star had relapsed. Lindsay admitted on her documentary series, that she had drank a “glass of wine”.

Trending