Daughter's name found etched on old bedroom wall 26 years after her death

The family of a Northern Ireland woman killed in a road traffic collision 26 years ago got a shock when they started redecorating her old bedroom recently.
Top left, clockwise, the late Elaine Ryan; the etching of her name on her old bedroom wall; the permanent feature, created by younger brother Terry Ryan in Elaine's old room.Top left, clockwise, the late Elaine Ryan; the etching of her name on her old bedroom wall; the permanent feature, created by younger brother Terry Ryan in Elaine's old room.
Top left, clockwise, the late Elaine Ryan; the etching of her name on her old bedroom wall; the permanent feature, created by younger brother Terry Ryan in Elaine's old room.

Londonderry woman, Elaine Ryan, was knocked down and killed in January 1991 while travelling to Letterkenny in the Republic of Ireland.

Elaine and her friends were on their way to a club to celebrate Elaine's up-and-coming 21st birthday.

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Sadly, Elaine was killed and was buried the day before her 21st birthday.

Elaine pictured with her younger brother Terry shortly before her tragic death in 1991.Elaine pictured with her younger brother Terry shortly before her tragic death in 1991.
Elaine pictured with her younger brother Terry shortly before her tragic death in 1991.

Elaine's younger brother, Terry, was two years-old when she was tragically killed.

Last week, Terry and his father started redecorating Elaine's old bedroom in the family home in William Street.

As Terry and his dad removed the old wallpaper from inside the room they were shocked to find Elaine's name written on the wall.

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"We couldn't believe it when we saw it," said Terry. "It was Elaine's name - she must have written it on the wall shortly before she died."

Elaine's name, which was etched on her old bedroom wall shortly before she was killed.Elaine's name, which was etched on her old bedroom wall shortly before she was killed.
Elaine's name, which was etched on her old bedroom wall shortly before she was killed.

Terry said the discovery came as such a shock the family decided to turn the etching into a permanent feature.

"My dad and I couldn't bring ourselves to paint over Elaine's name so we decided to put a frame around it. The 21 butterflies that you can see represent the 21 years Elaine was alive before her death."

Terry added: "We think it's a nice wee story and given all the negative stories that have been coming out Derry recently we thought it would be nice to share this story - hopefully a few of Elaine's old friends will see this."