February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The event, which begins at 5 p.m., will take place at Our Lady of the Lake School auditorium, 32 Lakeside Ave., Verona, N.J.
Friends of Theresa Reilly, whose estranged husband killed their two daughters and then committed suicide on June 21, 2007, set up a scholarship fund in the children’s memory.
Meghan and Kelly Reilly, who were 6 and 5 years of age, were found dead in their father’s 1st-floor apartment in Montclair, N.J.
Forty-six-year-old Thomas Reilly, a maintenance contractor originally from County Cavan, was found dead in a different floor of the building.
Theresa Reilly issued a statement about this year’s event to the Irish Echo through her friend Patricia Beltron: “It helps me to go on knowing another child or children are being given the opportunity to continue their education through the fund in memory of Meghan and Kelly. I find comfort in that because Our Lady of the Lake School was a huge part of Meghan and Kelly’s little world.”
Denis Lenihan, who conceived the idea of the fund, said about 100 people came to last year’s event. He was hopeful that as many, if not more, would attend on April 26.
“She’s doing the best she can under the circumstances,” said Lenihan, who first knew Theresa Reilly when as a young teenage immigrant she attended Irish events with her mother, Mary Ward.
Donors can make checks payable to Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Scholarship Fund and mail them to Meghan & Kelly Scholarship Fund, c/o Our Lady of the Lake School, 32 Lakeside Ave., Verona, N.J. 07044, or to Lenihan at 39 Oak Dr., Roseland, N.J. 07068. Lenihan can also be contacted at 973-432-8066.