Three missing in air tragedy

Trinity College Dublin has said it is ‘stunned’ over the fate of the three doctors on the missing Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Dr Aisling Butler from Roscrea, Dr Jane Deasy from Dublin and Dr Eithne Walls from Co Down were all friends who graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2007.

Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr John Hegarty, said that the College, and in particular the staff and students of the School of Medicine, extended their deepest sympathies to the Butler, Deasy and Walls families at this most difficult time. “The loss of such young, vibrant and promising women at the outset of their careers in medicine, and in such tragic circumstances, has stunned the College from which they so recently graduated.
“Our thoughts are with the families and their classmates,” said Dr Hegarty.
The three doctors — all in their 20s — were returning from holiday in Brazil when tragedy struck. At the time of going to press, it was still unclear as to the whereabouts of the Air France Airbus A330, which disappeared over the Atlantic with 228 people on board.
Dr Aisling Butler, from Roscrea in Co Tipperary, celebrated her 26th birthday just two weeks ago. She was doing an internship in Tallaght Hospital and was a Senior House Officer in the hospital’s Emergency Department. She was due to move to St James’s Hospital at the NCHD changeover next month. Her friend, Dr Jane Deasy from Rathgar, was also an Intern at AMNCH, Tallaght.
Dr Eithne Walls, from Ballygowan in Co Down, worked at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin and it is understood she hoped to become an eye surgeon. Eithne joined the Ophthalmic team at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear in January and was described by members of that team as a ‘vibrant, young, energetic, talented, enthusiastic doctor’. Her friend, Dr Jane Deasy was due to join her there on July 1. A service was held in Tallaght Hospital this week for all the people on Flight AF 447.