Sister of woman killed at Cork soup kitchen calls for opening of vacant Cork buildings

And she called for more gardaí to patrol on-street soup kitchens, which she said should be “safe spaces”.

Vanessa, 36, was assaulted on Sunday while attending a soup kitchen on St Patrick’s Street. She died in Cork University Hospital (CUH) on Wednesday. A Garda investigation is ongoing. 

In 2019, James Duncan died in hospital six months after he was assaulted while also attending a soup kitchen on St Patrick’s Street.

Lynda said: “There are plenty of empty buildings around Cork City and I don’t understand why they can’t open up for a couple of hours in the evening so the people can go and sit down, have a wash, charge their phone.

Let’s hope that they will find somewhere safe for our most vulnerable people. Because our vulnerable people were children, they are somebody’s sister, somebody’s mother, somebody’s niece, somebody’s aunt, somebody’s friend and they weren’t born into the world homeless.

“They have problems obviously, but they have problems dealing with their problems.

“Don’t let our Vanessa’s death be for no reason. Open up somewhere for these very vulnerable people.” 

She made her comments in an interview with Paul Byrne on The Opinion Line on Cork’s 96FM on Friday.

'She was always happy'

Lynda, and her sister, Marcella, described Vanessa as a "sunbeam", and recalled fond childhood memories with her, how she loved her hair, and how their father nicknamed her Peggy Sue.

“She was a beam of sunlight every time you would see her. She was smiling, she was always happy,” Lynda said.

They couldn’t explain how she came to be homeless but said she kept to herself, chose to do her own thing, and did no harm to anyone.

“I bumped into her a couple of weeks ago and she did ask if I would help her and I said I would. I asked her if she wanted to go for something to eat. She said no. She was happy to plod off and do her own thing that evening,” Lynda said.

Their family has drawn comfort from the many messages of support, and tributes to Vanessa herself.

“Every message I read was how bubbly she was, how happy she was, she told everybody she loved them. And that is who Vanessa was. I hope they find who did this. Vanessa did not deserve this,” she said.

“Vanessa had problems, but she wasn’t a violent person. I’m not saying she was perfect. Who is? If everybody was perfect, this would be a very boring world, wouldn’t it?

Hopefully there won’t be a next Vanessa. Because no family should have to go through what we are going through.

“More guards are needed on the streets, especially in the evenings because these are vulnerable people, some of them have addictions, some of them haven’t. Soup runs are supposed to be safe places where they can eat and drink.

“I think they should definitely have more guards or more patrols in the evenings when these people are queueing up. They should be entitled to sit down in peace in a public street and eat their dinner without the fear of being pulled off a bench and being kicked around the road.” 

But gardaí have effectively ruled out a permanent Garda presence at soup runs.

In a statement, a spokesman said homelessness was a complex societal issue that required multi-agency co-operation and was primarily under the remit of the local authority.

“In keeping with our mission statement of ‘Keeping People Safe’, members of An Garda Síochána regularly engage with homeless persons and rough sleepers — checking on their welfare and ensuring that they are in possession of relevant contact details for State and NGO welfare groups,” he said.

“An Garda Síochána, through community policing teams in particular, collaborate with State agencies, homelessness services and homeless NGOs on a near daily basis to offer assistance and support to these most vulnerable members of society.” 

Meanwhile, as Lynda and her family prepare for a funeral, she recalled talking quietly to Vanessa in her hospital bed at CUH in her final hours.

“I stroked her hair and her feet and said sleep easy. At least you were in a bed today,” she said.

A vigil for Vanessa will take place on St Patrick's Street at 7.30pm on Sunday.