A vigil for Daniel Aruebose, the Dublin boy whose remains are believed to be those found buried on lands in Donabate last week, has been told his death had fostered a sense of togetherness in the area, as people expressed their grief and shock.
Several hundred people attended the event on Sunday evening on Donabate Green in the north Dublin village, where hymns were played, blue balloons were released and people lit candles and placed them next to a framed photograph of the boy.
Rev Augustine Fokchet of Donabate, Portrane and Balheary Parish told those gathered that the large attendance at the event was a reflection of deep sadness but also the strength of community in the area.
“For baby Daniel, all of us come out of a spirit of community living and a spirit of togetherness,” he said. “In moments like this, we show the milk of kindness that each one of us is made of.”
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Mary McLoughlin, chair of Donabate-Portrane Senior Citizens, said she organised the event as so many people have come to her to discuss a gathering to pay their respects to Daniel and to remember him.
“There’s been a great sense of sadness and loss here, we can’t believe it really. We are ask ‘why has this happened?’ There’s a sense of loneliness around the parish. We felt this was important, so people could get together in a close-knit community.”
Francis Morris, a young mother from the area, was among those present, with her children, and told The Irish Times the event was important as it afforded people the opportunity pay their respects.
“My own son is three and a half years old and I really felt it because I know the little boy, Daniel, was about this age when he went missing. So it really hit home,” she said.
“This is a small community and we just wanted to come out for him. There’s shock, real shock and just sadness ... The pure innocence in (his) eyes in that photograph, it really pulled at your heart strings.”
[ Daniel Aruebose: What do we know about his short life, and what happens next?Opens in new window ]
Karen O’Brien, who was part of a large group from nearby Portrane attending the vigil, said she “couldn’t not be here”.
“There’s a dark cloud over the community in Donabate and Portrane,” she said. “My daughter goes to school in Donabate Community College and they would have walked up through that laneway (beside where the remains were found) on their way to play football for the school.
“To know that you’re walking by ... it’s unheard of. But we are glad he has been found. And the truth will come out.”
Daniel was living in a family setting in The Gallery apartment complex in Donabate when gardaí believe he died about four years ago. Partial skeletal remains, believed to be Daniel’s, were discovered by gardaí, buried on lands off Portrane Road, just outside the village, last Wednesday.
[ Gardaí set for new approach in Daniel Aruebose inquiryOpens in new window ]
Gardaí are still trying to determine how Daniel died, whether he was a victim of foul play and why his remains were buried in a field. Though he and his family had previously been clients of Tusla for about two years, including as his parents considered giving him up for adoption, his disappearance went unnoticed until late last month.
The first concerns were raised with the Garda, via Tusla, when checks were made on a social welfare payment, related to Daniel, that was being claimed.
The Ombudsman for Children has said a new statutory review mechanism for examining child deaths must be urgently established in the wake of Daniel’s death. Dr Niall Muldoon said the “devastatingly sad” case leaves the State with “serious questions to answer”.
The fact that Daniel “could have disappeared without anyone noticing is shocking” but “the fact he is the second young child to disappear in the past 12 months leaves the whole of the State with serious questions to answer”. Co Louth boy Kyran Durnin vanished in 2022, though the alarm was only raised, by Tusla, at the end of August 2024.
