‘I feel gutted for her, she was such a nice person – a ray of sunshine’
A TEENAGER who died following a crush outside of a disco was a “ray of sunshine”, her friend has said.
The community in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, has been left reeling by the deaths of Lauren Bullock (17), Morgan Barnard (17), and Connor Currie (16) as young people waited to get into a popular disco at the Greenvale Hotel on Sunday night.
Books of condolence opened yesterday morning in Cookstown, Dungannon, where the victims were from, and Magherafelt.
Chairman of Mid-Ulster District Council Sean McPeake was the first to sign at the Burn avon Arts and Cultural Cen- tre in Cooks town.
“This is a mechanism for local people to show their respect and feelings for the families of the three young ones who lost their lives so tragically,” he said.
“This is one way to show the outpouring of grief.”
Lauren’s close friend Alice Lambert (17) wrote a personal message in the memorial book at the centre.
Alice, from Coalisland in Co Tyrone, said: “I feel gutted for her about it. She was such a nice person – she was like a ray of sunshine.
“She made you happy, you saw her on a night out and she would have made you happy.”
She said she felt “broken down” since she heard about the tragedy.
“The moment I found out I was completely broken down,” said Alice.
“Greenvale was a complete shock to everybody and came out of nowhere and it really hurt me and for one of my friends to be affected by it – it just kills you.
“She was a lovely person, a really nice person, it is really bad that she is gone.”
Lauren was a pupil at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon and principal Catherine McHugh described her as a “shining light”.
Morgan and Connor both
The boys’ school said it was a time of profound sadness
went to neighbouring St Patrick’s Academy. The school said it was a time of “profound sadness”.
Morgan was an “ambitious, charismatic” young person with an abundance of potential, studying mathematics, digital technology, business studies and his “absolute passion” for Irish.
The school said: “He lifted the mood everywhere he went, everyone benefited from Morgan’s energetic, positive zest for life. It was contagious.
“His smile was bright and when Morgan was around, fun and laughter always followed.”
Connor was a “kind-hearted, loyal friend” who was always willing to help others and was “courteous, mannerly and compassionate”, teachers said.
“He had a great sense of team spirit and his warm, caring nature endeared him to all and earned him much deserved respect,” his school said.