Rebecca Browne's anniversary marked with family tribute

The family of a young Derry woman killed after being struck by a Garda car in Inishowen has marked the second anniversary of her death by paying tribute to the popular and talented hairstylist.

The family has also reiterated its call for truth and justice and placed a cross at Ludden in Buncrana, close to the spot where the 21-year-old was killed as she walked home from a night out during the early hours of Sunday, May 21, 2023.

Marking the anniversary, a family spokesperson reflected on a life filled with promise that was cruelly cut short.

“Rebecca was more than a daughter, a sister and a friend. She was joy, light and laughter, a soul who lit up every room and every life she touched. Her life was full of promise and it was stolen far too soon.”

The collision was investigated by the Garda Ombudsman GSOC pursuant to Section 98 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005 and was being treated as a criminal inquiry – but the DPP last December directed that there should be no prosecution in the case.

Members of Rebecca’s heartbroken family have labelled the DPP decision as “outrageous”. This has led to her family to formally request a full review of the decision not to prosecute and access to the complete investigation materials. 

In their quest for answers, the family says what they have received instead “are fragments. Silence. Delay. We continue to wait for the truth – and we won’t stop asking for it.”

“Rebecca is the brightest star – and a star will always shine brightest in the darkest sky. As we walk this long hard road toward justice, we ask her to guide us.” 

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The tribute on the Facebook page ‘Justice for Rebecca Browne’ described how ‘with trembling hands and shattered hearts, her mother Lynn, father Jerry, and granda placed a wooden cross at the roadside’. 

“No family should ever have to stand where theirs did today. Yet somehow they did. Maybe it was Rebecca, holding them up like she always did. Whispering, ‘Keep going’.”

“In the quiet, a kind stranger stopped. A wee man with a big heart. He simply said: ‘You need to keep fighting. Buncrana is behind you. To that man – thank you. For seeing them. For honouring her. For reminding us all: Rebecca is not forgotten. And neither is the truth.”

They added that “Rebecca should be here. Laughing. Living. Instead, her cross now stands where justice has yet to be delivered.”

Rebecca’s family will soon be holding a roadside vigil and asking their local priest to bless the cross – “a symbol of every broken heart in this country. Because a life was taken. And no one is ‘supposedly accountable’.”