FERMANAGH is one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman.
Six of the 42 females killed violently in the North over the past eight years died here in Fermanagh, despite the county having the smallest population.
To break that grim statistic down, the local deaths account for a total of 14.2 percent of the 42 women and girls who were killed, while the county’s population makes up only 3.3 percent of the North, showing a disproportionately high number of femicides in the county.
Belfast Telegraph journalist Alison Morris compiled the list, outlining how the North is now one of the most dangerous places to be a woman in Europe, with an average of five women and girls a year dying violent deaths, and seven being killed so far this year alone.
“In all but one of the cases the perpetrator or chief suspect is male,” she wrote.
With such a relatively high proportion of these deaths occurring in Fermanagh, that means this county in particular is one of the most dangerous places to be a woman.
Drawing up the list in chronological order, beginning in January 2017, the first Fermanagh name to appear on the overall Northern Ireland list belongs to Lu Na McKinney, who was killed while boating with her family near Devenish Island in April 2017. The 35-year-old mother-of-two was murdered by her husband, Tyrone man Stephen McKinney, who is now serving 20 years in prison.
Next on the list is popular local music teacher Concepta Leonard, known as Connie to those who knew her. Connie was stabbed to death in May 2017 at her home near Maguiresbridge by her former partner Peadar Phair, who also took his own life.
The inquest into her death revealed how Connie had been terrified of Phair, and had contacted police before he killed her. Her son Conor, who has Down’s syndrome, was also injured in the horrific attack.
Also included in the list are three generations of one family, who were all killed in an arson attack in Derrylin in February 2018.
They were 15-month-old Morgana Quinn, her mother Sabrina Gossett, 19, and her 45-year-old grandmother Denise Pauline Gossett. Another family member, 16-year-old Roman Gossett, also died in the blaze.
Earlier this year, 33-year-old Daniel Sebastian Allen was sentenced to at least 29 years in prison for their murder.
The final Fermanagh name on the list is that of Pauline Kilkenny, whose death in November 2018 shocked the county.
Pauline, who was a popular member of staff at Lilly’s Centra on the Lough Shore Road in Enniskillen, was killed at her Belcoo home by a man she had tried to help.
The 59-year-old was stabbed 28 times by Joseph Dolan, who was suffering from a personality disorder and had taken prescription drugs.
Dolan was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to at least ten years in prison.
Ms Morris wrote, that after compiling the list, it had to be updated before publication, with the recent violent death of little Tavia Da Costa in Dungannon, who was just 23-months-old. Her mother’s partner has been charged with her murder.
Other names not included on the list, but who have connections either through life or death to Fermanagh, include little Ali Jayden Doyle from Tyrone who was murdered by Enniskillen man Darryn Armstrong in 2021, and 23-year-old Kelly Lynch from Lisnaskea who was found dead in Monaghan earlier this year. Her family has been seeking answers to the mystery surrounding her death.
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