First Communion girl dies in bouncy castle tragedy

Family devastated after freak gust of wind accident

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Irish girl dies after accident on her Holy Communion party jumping castle

Photo by Jim Tardio / Last Compass

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UPDATE: Tragic first communion girl laid to rest in her dress

Little Amy Byrne’s big day ended in tragedy when the eight-year-old died from head injuries after she was thrown from a bouncy castle at the family farm.

Parents Paul and Lorraine Byrne are being comforted by family and friends after the tragic loss of their daughter when a gust of wind threw the bouncy castle into the air.

The little girl lost her footing when the wind caught the castle shortly after 6pm on Saturday and sustained serious head injuries as she landed on the ground after she was thrown out of the castle.

Her horrified parents ran to her aid and Amy was given immediate medical attention but lost consciousness before she was rushed to Waterford’s regional hospital.

Surgeons worked desperately to revive the eight-year-old but she was pronounced dead late in Sunday night with her parents by her bedside.

Just last week Amy had wanted to wear her Communion dress to her uncle’s wedding.

Local parish priest Fr Michael Kennedy summed up the feeling of shock within the local community,
“I was the first priest to give her Holy Communion and, as it turned out, I was also the last,” said Fr Kennedy.

“She was such a beautiful little angel, in fact we had 15 little angels at St Gobnait’s last Saturday for the Holy Communions.

“It’s hard to believe that I was congratulating her outside the church and just a couple of hours later this could happen. We’ve a very tight-knit, caring community here and this has hit everyone very hard.”

An elderly neighbor said: “It’s a dreadful thing to happen for a Holy Communion of all days.”

“They are a lovely couple who absolutely dote on their children. They are heartbroken by this freak accident - we are all devastated,” she added.

Local police have described the incident as a ‘tragic accident’.

Her funeral on Tuesday will include a guard of honor from her classmates who made their First Holy Communion alongside Amy on Saturday.

UPDATE: Tragic first communion girl laid to rest in her dress

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