UPPERLANDS couple Eamon and Antoinette McGuckin have broken their silence to say they have been "deeply hurt" by events which have unfolded during their holiday in Portugal.
The family returned on Tuesday night with their three young children who were taken into care by Portuguese authorities after they allegedly passed out following a drinking session.
But the McGuckins have released a detailed statement in which the
y attempt to clear their names.
“We are deeply saddened and hurt by the events of the past days. We live and breathe for our children and would never ever place them in any kind of danger,” they say.
“We hope that this traumatic experience is now closed as we want to get back to our normal routine of loving our beautiful children and getting on with life.”
The couple stressed that they now wanted to be left in peace with no further media coverage.
SDLP councillor Kate Lagan told the MAIL that she understood the couple is hoping to get blood test results from a clinic in Portugal which would prove their drinks had been spiked.
Mr and Mrs McGuckin were taken for treatment to the Loule health clinic near the Algarve’s Vilamoura resort after passing out in the hotel lobby following an evening out with their three children, one-year-old Adam, two-year-old Amy and Aaron (6).
The youngsters were taken into temporary care but returned to their parents the following morning.
Mrs Lagan said blood samples were taken from the McGuckins at the health clinic.
“They are good people and responsible parents. But clearly something very strange happened here,” she said.
“How else could you possibly go from escorting three children from a bar to being completely comatose in a hotel as suddenly as that?”
The Portuguese authorities are sending a report to the Northern Ireland Social Services relating to the incident.
The full article contains 320 words and appears in Mid Ulster Mail Cookstown newspaper.
