Rachael Irvine, whose brother Ross was killed in the Dunblane massacre 30 years ago, has described her grief as “a wound that’s there forever”. Ross was one of 16 pupils and their teacher murdered by Thomas Hamilton at Dunblane Primary School on 13 March 1996, in what remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.
Ms Irvine, 28, who never met her brother, said the loss of a child is “not something that ever goes away”. She added: “Life continues, but you don’t ever stop thinking about your child. You don’t ever move on from your child.”
The Irvine family will mark the 30th anniversary by visiting Ross’s grave in Ayr, where he lived before moving to Dunblane five months before the tragedy. Ms Irvine recalled her brother as “a fun-loving, outgoing, chatty boy” who loved dinosaurs, trains and Thunderbirds.
Two years ago, Ms Irvine joined the Gun Control Network, set up after the massacre to campaign for stricter gun laws. She said she hopes to educate younger generations about the importance of the handgun ban introduced in the UK after Dunblane.
