Mystery Surrounds Death of Soldier

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Irish Voice News

Mystery Surrounds Death of Soldier

October 4, 2007

BY April Drew

An IRISH woman in the Army National Guard was shot in the head at a secure U.S. airbase in Afghanistan on Thursday.

Specialist Ciara Durkin, originally from Eanach Mheain in Connemara, Co. Galway, was killed about 6:30 p.m. by a single gun shot wound to the head near a church in the Bagram U.S. airbase in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military informed the family the cause of Durkin’s death but told them it may take up to eight weeks to investigate the incident.

Durkin, 30, left Ireland with her parents Tom and Angela and her seven siblings when she was nine and the family moved to Dorchester in Massachusetts.

Six weeks after coming to the U.S. Tom, who was born in New York City but moved to Ireland when he was three, died of a heart attack. He was a schoolteacher.

Durkin attended St. Mark’s Elementary School in Dorchester and returned to Galway to attend secondary school (high school) in Carraroe.

After declaring Durkin’s death as “killed in action” on Sunday the Department of Defense changed its statement on Monday to say that Durkin, who was part of the finance unit of the Army National Guard, was not in fact killed in combat.

A statement released from the Pentagon said that she died “of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident.” Later on Monday a guard spokesman told reporters that the term “killed in action” was meant to insinuate that Durkin was deployed in Afghanistan at the time of death.

Her death is under investigation. The Durkin family has called upon the Irish government to intervene and find out how and why she died. In New York on Tuesday, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern confirmed that the government would investigate, but declined to comment further.

Durkin, who was deployed to Afghanistan in February for a year-long tour, was assigned to the 726th Finance Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard.

Her duties in Afghanistan included making sure the finances of soldiers were in order and that there families were getting benefits.

A family friend, Dan Houton, whose parents originate from Donegal, told the Irish Voice on Tuesday that Durkin traveled far and wide with her job.

“She was doing great there,” he said. “Ciara would travel to all the different base camps and train people in her field. Her family was very proud of her.”

Before enlisting in the National Guard two years ago, Durkin worked at a company called Fenway Health in the information technology department. After being let go from there Durkin decided to join the National Guard.

“We saw her only a few weeks ago,” remembers Houton, who described the soldier as a “very sweet girl who was always so bright and cheerful.”

Durkin returned from Afghanistan for a two-week vacation in early August. “She had a lot of fun at home,” said Houton.

On her way back to Afghanistan, Durkin’s plane stopped off at Shannon to refuel. She phoned her two sisters and brother who still live in Ireland. Durkin had planned to return to her native country to go back to college when her service ended.

In April, Durkin sent her family an email from Afghanistan. In it there was a photograph of her and an American private contractor who she had saved from a 26-foot fall off a ladder.

“Ciara had the presence of mind and courage and broke this man’s fall, ultimately saving him from severe injury or even death,” said Houton, who mentioned that Durkin was hurt during the incident.

Houton went further to demonstrate Durkin’s courageous character. “One day she was in Quincy picking up food and she noticed someone in a booth eating in discomfort. She realized he was choking. She went over to him straight away and performed the Heimlich maneuver and saved his life too,” he said.

Durkin’s brother Pierce was the last person in the family to hear from his sister. On Friday, September 14 she had left him a voice mail wishing him a happy birthday.

Pierce repeated the message his sister had left him to the Boston Globe on Monday. “She was saying, ‘Pierce, I love you. I can’t wait to see you.’ And she started singing ‘Happy Birthday,’” he said.

Both Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry called Angela Durkin, Ciara’s mother, to pay their respects.

“Angela is finding this very difficult as you can expect,” said Houton.

The young soldier’s body was returned to the U.S. on Saturday and she was taken to Dover Air force Base in Delaware where doctors performed an autopsy.

Durkin, as requested in her will, will be cremated. Her wake will take place from 4-9 p.m. Friday at the Dennis Sweeney Funeral Home in Quincy. Her funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, also in Quincy.

Some of her ashes will be buried with her father in a cemetery in Galway, more will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery and the remainder will go her family.

Durkin is survived by her mother Angela, who

lives in Houghs Neck, Massachusetts; brothers Tom, of Long Island, Owen, of Annaghvane, Co. Galway, Pierce who lives in Quincy and sisters, Aine, of Donegal, Angela, of Annaghvane, Deirdre in Quincy and also Fiona in Quincy.

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