Remembering Natalie's Unique Humour and Kindness
A friend of Natalie McNally, who was tragically murdered in her Lurgan home in December 2022, has highlighted the qualities she will always remember most about her: her "dark, witty sense of humour".
On Monday, Stephen McCullagh, aged 36, from Woodland Gardens in Lisburn, was found guilty of murdering his pregnant partner, Natalie. Despite McCullagh's denial of the murder charge, the jury reached a guilty verdict after just over two hours of deliberation.
Sarah Creighton, a friend of Natalie, described her as "extraordinarily kind" and "very much a woman of conviction".
"She was so funny, it was the one thing I always remember about her was that she was so whip-smart and funny.
She had a really kind of dark, witty sense of humour and it just came out all the time.
She was very passionate, she would have stood up very strongly for what she believed in.
She cared very deeply about her family, she loved animals - she just absolutely adored animals - and she cared very passionately about social justice."
Friendship and Shock at the Loss
Ms Creighton, a lawyer and commentator, first met Natalie on Twitter. The two later joined a social media group where they communicated regularly and met up over several years.
Ms Creighton recounted the moment she learned of Natalie's murder while holding her four-week-old baby son.
"It was like a gut punch and all of us that had been in that group together were just in absolute shock that this had happened," she said.
"I had heard the day before that somebody had been murdered in Lurgan, but it never occurred to me that it could be Natalie, so that was deeply, deeply upsetting.
It was horrendous really and she should be here and her son should be here."
Justice Delivered and Ongoing Concerns
Following the guilty verdict against McCullagh, Ms Creighton expressed relief and sympathy for Natalie's family.
"I was relieved and pleased for her [Natalie's] family, glad they've got justice.
They have been through absolute hell and they've waited a long time for this," she added.
Since 2020, thirty women have been violently killed in Northern Ireland, highlighting a serious societal issue.
Ms Creighton acknowledged the scale of the problem and the challenges involved in addressing it.
"The task of trying to tackle the issue is absolutely mammoth.
I don't know how you can begin to address it really, sometimes it feels quite overwhelming.
But it is quite clearly obvious that Northern Ireland has a problem, a serious problem."
