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Story Notes
This documentary is a diary of depression, told through the words of a young Belfast woman called Maria.
One night Maria went out disco dancing and never came home.
13 days later, her body was found in a terraced house in Canterbury Street in the university area of south Belfast. She had been murdered.
Unbeknownst to her family, Maria had struggled with depression for a long time. She documented her struggle in a diary which her parents later found.
'A girl called Maria' documents what Maria left behind - both her family and her diary.
Note: Since this documentary was made/broadcast, and almost 2 yrs after Maria died, a 21-year-old man, named Conor McCrory, pleaded guilty to the murder of Maria McConnell.
In an interview with the Belfast newspaper 'The Irish News', the parents of Maria McConnell said they forgave their daughter’s killer and that they bore no resentment towards him. “It’s the Christian way to look at things. We don’t have any bitterness. We have been praying for the McCrory family and Conor McCrory”, Mrs McConnell said.
Compiled and Narrated by Mandy McCauley
Produced by Lorelei Harris
First broadcast in 2001.
An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries
Story Credits