Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SONG TRIBUTE TO MURDERED LIAM
Classmates honour 14yr-old whose father killed family
FRIENDS of murdered teenager Liam Hawe have immortalised his memory by recording a poignant song named after him.
Called Taken Away (A Song For Liam – Virginia College), they have released the tribute on soundcloud.com through Gmcbeats.
The three-minute, 19-second rap includes a haunting chorus that recalls how the 14-year-old was taken before his time.
Liam was killed by his father Alan in the family home near Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, on August 29 last year. He was the oldest son of Clodagh, 39, who was also murdered along with his younger brothers Niall, 11, and six-year-old Ryan.
The killer, a one-time pillar of society in the area where he was a deputy primary school principal, then took his own life.
Now Liam’s friends and classmates have released a song i n his honour, just as he should have been celebrating his 15th birthday.
Class 4C at Virginia College wrote the lyrics and music and performed the song themselves.
They sing about the heartache caused by the loss of their friend, his beautiful personality, the fact he died before his time and the gap he has left in all their lives.
After killing his family, calculated murderer Hawe transferred money from joint accounts to a single one in his name and then hanged myself. He left a series of notes claiming to explain his actions. The 40-year-old was buried with the family following a service conducted by Fr Felim Kelly, the curate of Castlerahan, outside Ballyjamesduff.
But after a 250-day battle by Clodagh’s mother Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly the mass killer was removed from the grave and they were allowed to rest in peace.