Family honour late Kelly Lynch on her 24th birthday

The sky was cloudy, but the weather fair. Amid a gentle breeze, balloons with the message 'Forever in our Hearts' were released into the air.

On Monday, Kelly would have been 24. Those in attendance remembered the countless good times, her infectious laugh, and the funny, quirky memories.

Kelly’s birthdays were always a "special time", said her grieving mum, Julieanne. Her eldest daughter would always have been "spoilt" by those who loved her, and the day “was always about her”.

'Forever in our Hearts'. (Image: Julieanne Lynch.)

Even in death, Julieanne wanted to ensure this tradition continued.

"When Kelly was here, there was nothing I wouldn't have done for her on her birthday," she recounted.

"I knew her birthday couldn't come and go without us doing something to mark it. It was a beautiful way for family and her closest friends to come together to remember her.

"It was a bittersweet moment because it was the only thing we could do. It's a tough reminder of the realities of our lives now. We had to leave her graveside; we had to go back home."

Monday also marked six months to the day that Kelly Lynch was found dead in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan Town.

While the investigation is now at an “advanced stage”, the Lynch family are still in search of answers.

Sunday’s memorial came as they prepare to have an expert review the post-mortem report into the 23-year-old’s death six months ago.

The late Kelly Lynch. (Image: Julieanne Lynch.)

"In August, we finally obtained a post-mortem and toxicology report," said Julieanne.

"In truth, it took us a while to process the severity of the injuries she sustained, but legally, we aren’t able to go into detail on this.

"We are now having Kelly's post-mortem independently reviewed by a renowned pathologist.

“We are going to put our trust in him to see things for what they really are. Hopefully, this will shed some light on what happened to our beautiful daughter."

On the six-month anniversary of Kelly's death, Julieanne admits that things have never been the same since the moment she heard of her daughter’s passing.

"Life is never going to be normal again. That life we had before Kelly died, we are never going to have that life again,” she said.

"Being a mother of six, Kelly completed the jigsaw. Now, it's just broken.

"I cannot bring myself to go into her room and remove her clothing, and all the quirky little things that she had. It feels too soon to be packing up her clothes.

"We have so many questions and so much to process. I just don't feel joy in anything anymore.

“I don’t want to make plans for the future. I live every day with the constant worry and questions about how Kelly died.

"All those things continue to trouble us. It's a pain that will never go away.

“It makes it even harder when you don't have all the answers to the questions. You paint your own picture in your head of the circumstance."

Julieanne has renewed her appeal for anyone with information that could assist with the investigation to come forward.

“If anyone has anything that would be of assistance, please make it known. If anyone was with her that night, if anyone saw anything, please come forward.”

She added: “I want people to remember Kelly; I want people to keep saying her name; I want people to keep her memory alive, and I want people to back me in our fight for justice.”

A memorial to remember the late Kelly Lynch. (Image: Julieanne Lynch.)