The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it expects the death toll of Irish victims from the World Trade Centre disaster to reach double figures.
Only four Irish people have been confirmed dead so far by the Department, a figure that includes the Brooklyn-born chaplain of the New York Fire Department, Father Mychal Judge.
Many Irish nationals are missing, however, including a group of construction workers who were working on the 97th floor of the north tower, the first to be hit.
Ms Ruth Clifford McCourt (44) and her daughter Juliana (4), from Cork, were the first confirmed Irish victims. They died along with 54 other passengers, two pilots and seven crew on board United Airlines flight 175, bound from Boston to Los Angeles, which crashed into the south tower. Coincidentally, her brother, Ronnie, had been in the same building at the time.
It later emerged another Irish person was on the flight, Mr Paddy Currivan (52), an engineer from Dublin. Father Judge (68), whose parents come from Leitrim, was giving the last rites to a firefighter when he was struck by a piece of debris from the collapsing towers.
A pastor at the Church of St Francis of Assisi on Manhattan's West 31st Street, he was a frequent visitor to Ireland, and recently travelled to Dublin and Belfast on a peace mission with Mr Steven McDonald, a New York police officer who was shot and paralysed but publicly forgave his assailant.
Among those still missing are stockbroker Ms Ann Marie McHugh (35) from Tuam, Co Galway, who worked on the 89th floor of the south tower. She was seen on the 40th floor as the building was being evacuated but became separated from colleagues.
Her parents are Tuam publicans Mr Padraic and Mrs Margaret McHugh of the Town Hall Tavern. She was due to get married next month.
Mr Donagh Killilea, a family spokesman, said the McHugh family were "traumatised" with worry. Her brother, Brendan, had travelled home from London and her sister, Maura, had come from Dublin. "The family has had no word at all. The waiting is traumatising them at the moment," he said.
Also missing are construction workers Mr Kieran Gorman (35), from Carrowcurragh, Lavagh, Co Sligo; Mr Martin Coughlan (53), from Cappawhite, Tipperary; and Mr Sean Canavan (39), a cousin of Tyrone GAA stars Peter and Pascal Canavan.
A spokesman for the Department said it planned to send additional staff to New York to assist family members who would be travelling to the city once transatlantic air services resumed. He urged people who called the Department's helplines in recent days to make contact again in order to confirm details or eliminate themselves from inquiries.
Hundreds have been removed from the missing persons database already. However, the spokesman warned the good news coming out of its offices will inevitably be "mixed with some bad" over the next few days.
The 24-hour helplines remain open on 1800-715 165; 1800715 159; 1800-401 800 and 1800-385 858. Psychologists are available for trauma counselling.
Concerned relatives can also contact the Irish consulates in the US directly at 001-212 319 2555 (New York) and 001-202 462 3939 (Washington). The Irish Embassy in Washington has also established an e-mail helpline: embirlus@aol.com
