A GROUP of Spanish nuns have marked the first anniversary of the death in South America of Derry's Sister Clare Crockett by visiting her grave.
Sr Clare (33) was killed when the building she was teaching music in Playa Prieta in Ecuador collapsed in an earthquake last April.
She was a member of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, a Spanish based community. It plans to open a base in Ireland next month in honour of Sr Clare.
From Derry's Brandywell, she worked as an actress before joining the community. She said she announced plans to join holy orders "with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other".
Four of Sr Clare's colleagues travelled to Derry on Easter Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of her death at a Mass at St Columba's Church, Long Tower on Monday.
The group paid a poignant visit to her grave at Derry city cemetery yesterday morning before travelling on to Sligo in advance of opening their first Irish base in Co Roscommon. The nuns said they were delighted with the welcome they have received.
Sr Clare's family said they were moved that her memory was still so vivid a year after her death. Her sister, Shauna Gill said the family has received a lot of support. She said Sr Clare was always happy and loved life.
"To think that a year on people are still writing about her is unbelievable," she said.
A film, All or Nothing: Sister Clare Crockett, will be released later this year.
