Elaine Keogh spoke to the families of two children at the centre of an attempted abduction in Dundalk
The horror of what the families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman are going through in Cambridgeshire, England, was haunting the families of Kelly Mullen and Ciara Brady yesterday.
"What must their families be going through? We had been talking about it over the last three of four days and about them wearing the Manchester United jerseys, and I'd say that was in her head. I am just relieved we have her with us and she didn't get into the car with that fellow, whoever he is," Kelly's mother, Jennifer, said yesterday.
Her father, Brendan, said it was vital the culprit was caught. "At least we have her here with us; I just want him to be caught and my heart goes out to those two families in England."
Ciara was staying with her granny, Connie, on Wednesday night and she fought back the tears as she spoke of her relief that the girl was safe.
"I didn't sleep a wink after it; I kept going in and looking at her in the bed, especially after the two wee girls in England. It could have been Ciara."
The girls were approached as they played football with other children, including local boys, close to Dunnes Stores, whose car-park faces Connie Brady's front door.
Coxes Demesne is made up of a number of different estates, which are interlinked but like a maze to strangers. However, this man appeared to know the area, and the girls say that when they walked away from him they saw him drive in the direction of another estate where he pulled up alongside a 12-year-old girl.
She was called away by her brother, however, and the man drove off. Gardaí are treating it as a suspicious approach rather than an attempt to abduct her.
It emerged yesterday afternoon that the car was seen a short time later in Beechmount Drive, another local estate, where it pulled up beside 11-year-old Donna Carr.
Donna believes that last March she and a friend were approached by the same man in the same car and that he tried to get them on their own with him and to touch him.
On that occasion he again stopped near a group of children playing football and asked Donna and her friend to show him any houses that were empty as he wanted to move to the estate.
They walked with him to an empty house and he then asked the girls if there was somewhere he could go to the toilet. When he unzipped his trousers and asked the girls to approach him, they ran away.
However, Donna got the fright of her life on Wednesday night when she turned round to find the man had just pulled up beside her as she played near her home. This was just 45 minutes after he had approached Kelly and Ciara.
All the girls said he had a Northern Ireland accent and was driving a white car.
Donna's uncle is a member of Dundalk Town Council and last night he said it was important that the culprit was apprehended.
"It is absolutely essential he is caught so he can firstly get the treatment he needs and, secondly, so he can be put on a register so that he can be monitored by gardaí,"he said.
THE EXPERTS' VIEW
What the Garda say
Encourage your child to play in groups where possible, rather than alone.
Warn them to avoid secluded or unlit places.
Always know where your children are. If they go somewhere (e.g. a friend's house) with your approval, they should never move on to somewhere else without telling you first.
Tell your child never to talk to strangers. Where an adult in a car asks directions, or anything else, a child should stay well back from the vehicle and reply: "I don't know" or "ask an adult".
Even where an adult is known to the family, your child should never accompany him or her anywhere without your prior knowledge and approval.
What child psychologists say
Always communicate warnings in a calm and assuring manner.
Try to drop them into conversation periodically, rather than sitting down and discussing it a way that might alarm the child.
While stressing basic ground rules, such as never talking to unknown adults, avoid "inappropriate detail", especially when talking to younger children.
Help children tap into "their own intuitive sense of comfort and discomfort". Tell them it's OK to say no to adults. Equally, assure them that if they find themselves in uncomfortable situations, it's all right to "make a fuss", whether by screaming or shouting, in order to draw other people's attention.