By Lesley Walsh
THE grandfather of murdered Donaghadee woman, Sarah Montgomery, has spoken out about the trauma his family has endured since the death of the pregnant mother of two last year.
Arthur Arbuckle also praised the town of Donaghadee for its support since the murder of the 27 year-old last June, which he said had greatly helped the family during ‘very, very difficult’ times since Sarah’s death.
The 82 year-old addressed an event on Tuesday evening hosted by the Donaghadee Community Development Association to raise awareness of domestic abuse. The event was staged in conjunction with Women’s Aid, the PSNI and other agencies.
A Belfast man is currently on remand charged with Sarah’s murder, alongside the rarely seen offence in Northern Ireland of child destruction. Sarah was 34 weeks pregnant with a baby boy whom she had named Liam Arthur.
During an emotional and powerful address Mr Arbuckle spoke of the deep love Sarah had for her two little girls, before she was attacked and killed at her Elmfield Walk home on June 27.
The frail pensioner’s poignant words, relayed to the large turnout at the town’s community centre via a recorded interview, carried the pain of loss which continues to be felt within the whole town at Sarah’s untimely death nine months ago.
Reflecting on the all-too short life of his grand-daugher, he said: “By jove she was devoted to them kids; dearly loved, devoted and a lovely, happy mother to them, and to us,” he said.
Stating he was ‘very, very close’ with her, he said ‘I still am today’, visiting her grave every day.
Explaining how his family has coped with the grief since last summer’s life changing events, he said it has been navigated ‘very much under pressure’ by both he and his wife Edith, and the ‘surrounding family.
“It’s very, very difficult because part of the family was in poor health beforehand – this certainly hasn’t helped at all, I have to say.”
However, he said their journey of bereavement has been aided by the local community to a ‘great’ extent.
“For the town to come round, it’s fantastic; the town and the businesses and how everything came together and supported us, was really great,” he continued.
“That meant a big lot – it’s still there, still there.” Commenting on Tuesday’s community event, staged not only as a legacy to Sarah but also to raise awareness of domestic abuse, he said: “It’s so important that the knowledge gets out, throughout the area, throughout the country. I would hope the message they would take away from this is how much it destroys families, destroys the community and of course it destroys the victims, no doubt about it, it could save someone’s life.”
He added that if the event encouraged people to come forward if they were suffering domestic abuse, or prompted others who feared a loved one was a victim, it ’goes down a lot to show that a wee bit of thought, a wee nudge could save someone’s life’.
“That’s the most important thing – a wee life could be saved.”
Mr Arbuckle, well-known throughout the town for his history with the local RNLI, spoke to the Chronicle stating he was delighted with the turnout at the event.
He restated that ’it’s been very difficult’, since losing Sarah and said his family was no stranger to loss – he and wife Edith lost their only child, Linda, who was Sarah’s mother, in 2019.
Sarah’s father, Andrew, had died just two years before, leaving Sarah’s two autistic brothers who he and Edith try to ‘keep an eye’ on .
The elderly man, who is unsteady on his feet and whose wife Edith is in a wheelchair, was not surprisingly unable to take over guardianship of his granddaughter’s two little girls, who will soon turn eight and six.
They are being cared for by close family members who said ‘they were doing really well’ considering the circumstances. Mr Arbuckle stressed how much the community meeting meant to the family, who have been so damaged by the impact of domestic abuse.
“This is absolutely marvellous tonight, to see how many people are here and we want to say a big thank you to everyone.”
Joanne and Michelle Dorrian, sisters of Bangor woman Lisa who has been missing for 21 years, after going missing from a Ballyhalbert caravan park, also attended the event. Joanne explained why they felt it important to attend.
“It’s likely that Lisa was killed by someone she knew and though she wasn’t in a relationship with them, she knew her perpetrator on some level and there are so many murders that we felt it was important for us to support another local family going through this.
“Victims and survivors can be anybody and violence can touch anybody’s lives and we wanted to show solidarity for Sarah’s family and the community.”
