{"id":661,"date":"2025-08-15T21:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T21:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/661\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T21:15:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T21:15:09","slug":"they-failed-shannon-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/661\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They failed Shannon\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sittingroom of her home in Dunloy, Co Antrim<\/a>, a framed photograph of Shannon McQuillan smiles down from the mantelpiece. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe wanted to be a human rights lawyer,\u201d says Paul McQuillan, looking up at the picture of his daughter. \u201cShe hated injustice, and she was going to try and correct things. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe wanted to provide justice for people that were being treated the same way she ended up being treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 19-year-old law student at Ulster University, Shannon had been on a night out with her boyfriend, Owen McFerran, when she was knocked down and killed in the early hours of January 20th, 2018, after being left alone at a bus shelter in Magherafelt, Co Derry<\/a>, by Police Service of Northern Ireland<\/a> (PSNI) officers and a Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) paramedic and trainee. <\/p>\n

Owen, then 21, suffered life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, following an investigation, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland concluded there had been \u201cmultiple breaches in the duty of care\u201d<\/a> offered to Shannon and Owen, and that the PSNI response was \u201cwholly inadequate\u201d. <\/p>\n

This included failing to \u201ccomplete even the most basic checks\u201d in relation to them, to recognise the vulnerability and danger of leaving them alone beside a road, and to safeguard their welfare. <\/p>\n

\u201cMore should have been done in this case to protect the extremely vulnerable young woman and man from harm,\u201d said the Police Ombudsman\u2019s chief executive, Hugh Hume. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been treated as if you don\u2019t count,\u201d says Paul, \u201cbecause Shannon didn\u2019t count [to them]. She may not have counted to them, but she definitely counted to us.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ShannonShannon McQuillan’s grave. The 19-year-old was into make-up and had ‘the most beautiful ginger hair’, her father says. Photograph: Arthur Allison\/Pacemaker Press <\/p>\n

Shannon was one of four children; first came a son, then three girls in three years, each born a year apart, with Shannon in the middle. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very close,\u201d says Paul. \u201cShannon was an independent young girl, she liked doing her own thing, and was very easy to get on with, very easy-going.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was into make-up, had \u201cthe most beautiful ginger hair\u201d and was funny \u2013 he laughs, remembering \u201csome of the one-liners she used to come out with\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur conversations were always having a wee joke at each other, because each one thought they were as quick-witted as the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon shared her mother Collette\u2019s passion for heavy metal and rock music, and was \u201ca really caring person,\u201d he emphasises. \u201cNo matter what lengths she had to go to care for somebody or something, she would go to those lengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

This included saving a kitten and bringing home an injured duck; they still have her pet tortoise, Arthur. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a nice girl, and a good daughter,\u201d says Paul.<\/p>\n

That evening, Shannon and Owen were going out to a nightclub. According to the Police Ombudsman, they first came into contact with the PSNI and ambulance service at 2am, in a car park in Magherafelt. Shannon had fallen \u201ca number of times\u201d, hit her head and was unconscious, and had visible injuries to her leg. Subsequent tests showed both had high levels of alcohol in their blood. <\/p>\n

A decision was made to take them to hospital, but the ambulance personnel called police back to the car park after Shannon\u2019s behaviour became \u201cerratic\u201d. <\/p>\n

Police agreed to follow the ambulance, but shortly before 3am, it pulled into a bus layby on the Moneynick Road in Magherfelt and called again for police assistance. <\/p>\n

Following a discussion between the emergency services, Shannon and Owen got out of the ambulance \u201cand were left, alone, at a bus shelter\u201d.<\/p>\n

Collette had already received a call from the police, asking her to go and meet Shannon and Owen at the hospital. Then, at about 3.30am, Shannon phoned. <\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Where are you at?\u2019. They hadn\u2019t a clue where they were \u2026 Owen said: \u2018The police put us out\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

The ombudsman stated that \u201cat 3.38am the police received the first of three phone calls about two people walking in the middle of the Moneynick Road. <\/p>\n

\u201cTwo minutes later, a motorist informed police that he had collided with two people on the same road.\u201d Shannon died at the scene. <\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul McQuillan: ‘Shannon was an independent young girl, she liked doing her own thing, and was very easy to get on with, very easy-going.’ Photograph: Arthur Allison\/Pacemaker Press <\/p>\n

Owen had told Collette he thought they had been left at Logan\u2019s Fashions, a well-known shop near Dunloy but about 48km away from their actual location. \u201cI got in the car and went over to Logan\u2019s Fashions and there was no Shannon and Owen. <\/p>\n

\u201cI kept trying to contact them, it went to voicemail, so I went back home and kept trying to phone and phone. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen at five o\u2019clock in the morning I got a call from a policeman that he was coming to see me. So I knew.\u201d <\/p>\n

Following the tragedy, one of the three police officers who attended the ambulance received a written warning for gross misconduct, and another was dismissed from the PSNI. This dismissal was set aside on appeal, but the officer died before a hearing could take place. <\/p>\n

A third officer was disciplined for breaching the PSNI\u2019s code of ethics. <\/p>\n

The ombudsman\u2019s office submitted a file to the North\u2019s Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for the potential offences of gross negligence, manslaughter and misconduct in public office. The PPS directed no prosecutions. <\/p>\n

A separate PSNI investigation was carried out into the conduct of ambulance service staff and a police file was submitted to the PPS, but no criminal charges were brought. <\/p>\n

As a result of the \u201cwholly inadequate\u201d communication between police officers and ambulance staff, such as failures to pass on key information \u2013 including that Shannon had been unconscious, and contradictory accounts of what happened \u2013 the ombudsman has recommended a new policy, currently under development, for the PSNI and NIAS for dealing with people who are intoxicated and refuse medical treatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is definitely positive, if it saves somebody else,\u201d says Paul. <\/p>\n

Yet 7\u00bd years on from their daughter\u2019s death, he and Collette are still searching for answers. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey should have been sacked for the way they behaved that night,\u201d says Paul. \u201cThey cost my daughter\u2019s life, and they\u2019re not even man enough to stand up and admit their mistakes.\u201d <\/p>\n

Collette has taken a civil case against PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and the NIAS. In the wake of the Police Ombudsman\u2019s report, they are calling for the PPS to look again at prosecutions, and for a similar investigation to be conducted into the actions of the NIAS. <\/p>\n

They have many questions. Why was one of the police officers involved subsequently promoted twice? Why was a patient report form destroyed? Why could the police not have phoned to say they were leaving them in the layby? <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did one of the cops say you come from a republican family … it\u2019s trying to discredit the family,\u201d says Paul. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been lies, and cover-ups, the way they\u2019ve tried to portray it. It just goes to show you, the whole establishment, circles the wagons, the truth, never [comes out].\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere was the compassion for Shannon?\u201d asks Collette. \u201cThey didn\u2019t take into account the head injury that may have caused that erratic behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police were totally unprofessional, they did not do what they should have done. They failed Shannon in every way.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we just left \u2013 that\u2019s it, accept it? No, I\u2019ll never accept it. There is an injustice and I will fight for justice for my wain [child].\u201d <\/p>\n

The McQuillans\u2019 criticisms were put to the PSNI and the NIAS, and they were offered the opportunity to respond. <\/p>\n

In a statement, the PSNI said it had nothing to add to its comments following the Police Ombudsman\u2019s findings, when Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said: \u201cOur thoughts are very much with everyone who has been affected by this awful and tragic incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe accept that more could and should have been done by police to prevent the circumstances that preceded Shannon\u2019s death and Owen\u2019s injuries,\u201d he said. \u201cFor that we are truly sorry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will now take further time to carefully consider the ombudsman\u2019s report and assure ourselves that lessons have been learned particularly around the identification of vulnerability, risk assessment and adherence to service policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NIAS said it was \u201cunable to provide any comment on account of ongoing legal proceedings\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ShannonShannon McQuillan’s grave. Photograph: Arthur Allison\/Pacemaker Press <\/p>\n

Collette and Paul still talk to their daughter every day. For Collette, their conversations are on the sofa at home. \u201cShe\u2019d be like me, wee cup of tea and a wee smoke and oh, we\u2019d put the world to rights about homelessness and how can this be, and that\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n

She keeps in regular contact with Owen. \u201cHe was always part of our family, and he always will be.\u201d <\/p>\n

Paul goes to Shannon\u2019s grave. It is a few minutes\u2019 drive away, across the road from the chapel and with a view of the village and the green hills beyond. As he stands there, he thinks, \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be in there, pet.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the sittingroom of her home in Dunloy, Co Antrim, a framed photograph of Shannon McQuillan smiles down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,955,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,5,954,953,952,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-derry","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-latest-news","15":"tag-latestnews","16":"tag-main-news","17":"tag-mainnews","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-northern-ireland","20":"tag-police-ombudsman","21":"tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland-psni","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topstories","24":"tag-world","25":"tag-world-news","26":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}