Millie's family: the full interview

Rodney Edwards • Published 17 Dec 2009 09:00

In an exclusive interview with the Impartial Reporter, the toddler's heartbroken mother Rachel and grandmother Margaret speak for the first and only time about the death of their beautiful little Millie - a death that has rocked the country.

They pay an emotional tribute to their little "angel".

For doting mother Rachel, little Millie was her world. She was her best friend and she was completely devoted to her. Nobody knew her daughter like her - that's why nobody is best placed to pay tribute to Millie than her mother.

"She liked dancing, she loved music channels. She danced up and down and clapped her knees, she'd swing from side-to-side. Any music that came on she'd be dancing away. She liked playing the drums. I got her a wee drum and I'd say to her; 'show mummy you're playing the drums' and she'd start beating the top of the drum [smiled Rachel]. She'd like you singing to her, she'd nod her head as you sang to her like this [does impression]. I'd sing the Wheels on the Bus to her. She loved doing 'Round and Round the Garden' and she'd put her finger like this here [shows how Millie would place her little finger on her hand].

"The Galway Girl would come on my phone and she'd start dancing away," said Margaret.

"I've a video of her dancing on my mobile," added Rachel, continuing; "Millie liked Winnie the Pooh things. If you asked her to give Winnie the Pooh a kiss, she would. If you asked her to give Pooh bear a wee hug, she would as well. She was trying to talk, she was saying things like 'gah gah' and she said mumma a couple of times. You see everything you'd say to her? She knew what you were talking about. Just because she couldn't talk properly, didn't mean she didn't understand - she knew everything,"

"It was her first birthday in September," explained Rachel; "She had a wee tea party [smiles and laughs]. We had a wee Winnie the Pooh cake with little Millie candles on the top of it. She got lots of toys, clothes and money - she had more money than her mother! She got pocket money every week," she said.

"We had a wee box for her that we'd put pounds in every week - all for Millie," said Margaret.

"She was everything to me. I wanted to bring her up, teach her what was right and wrong. We got up at 9 o'clock every morning and I'd get her ready. We'd play with the ducks in the bath. Then I'd get her breakfast and we'd go into town. I brought her to the park a few times but she didn't really like the swings.... [pauses...] she should still be here. She was my angel. She was my life... [pauses...] She was my life,"

Rodney Edwards question: "Margaret, as Millie's grandmother - what's the toughest thing to deal with now she's gone?"

Margaret: "Everything. Everything reminds me of Millie. The house here is full of toys, it's very hard to deal with. It's all right at the minute because there are so many people around, keeping us occupied. But in the quiet times it's really tough. You'd see her cot, her clothes and you think you should be putting them on her. You wake up on Monday morning and you think; this should be Rachel and Millie's day, but that has been taken away by a monster,"

The sense of shock and horror at what has happened really shows in the response Millie's murder has had across Fermanagh and the whole of Northern Ireland. While the interview was taking place, the close-knit family were busy in other parts of the house attending to dozens of visitors and well-wishers - also greeting visitors was Margaret's husband Noel [Graham] - who has been a tower of strength for the family this week.

On Sunday it was Noel's birthday and the week before he had received a gift from Rachel but was told not to open it until the day of his birthday. Sunday came and Noel was to make a heart-breaking discovery - a present and a card inside from little Millie.

"She loved her Granda, she got him a wee shirt and a wee card. He said he'd treasure it that much he even put the envelope away with his name on it," explained Margaret; "It's not a birthday you could forget now," she said.

"The best way you can describe Millie is as a little angel, a precious angel that could never be replaced. It's just a nightmare, a nightmare everyday. Rachel had everything to live for with the baby, she had a family who loved little Millie with all their hearts and that's all been taken away. Millie was everything to her mother," said Margaret.

"She was a little bundle of joy. She had a wee personality that you couldn't have disliked if you tried, she was pleasant, she wasn't whingey. Now she was naughty like every wee 15-month child - she'd pull at cupboards and things and you'd have to watch her - but she was a good wee child. She'd love visiting us down here. She loved coming down. Rachel remarked recently that when she turned into the lane here, Millie would get all excited because she knew where she was. She'd see the dogs and the cats here, it would have been a change of scenery. I'd love having her here so I could spoil her - but now that's gone," said. Margaret.

RE: Rachel - how will you remember little Millie?

"As... [visibly emotional] my... little princess. My perfect beautiful princess. I feel sick that she's gone. I can't believe she's not here any more... I love her so, so much. I want her back so much,"

Turning to the events of last Thursday night, Rachel said: "I nipped just down the road to the Chanterhill shop around 8.30pm, just for a few messages. I was literally minutes away and when I got back, there was nobody in the house. The house was empty and I lifted my phone up to see that I had a missed call. I got a phone call telling me to get to the Erne Hospital quick - Millie wasn't well - I was in hysterics - I don't know how I was able to drive up to the hospital,"

"Whenever I got to the hospital Millie was being worked at. They thought she had a wee fit because she had a wee bite on her tongue. I was in pieces at the hospital. We left Enniskillen at 12.30am and were in Belfast around 2am. We were told there was a 5% chance of survival - she was so poorly, she was on a life support machine because she wasn't able to breathe for herself. She wasn't able to do anything for herself. The machine was keeping her alive. Her injuries were horrific. We were told it could have been meningitis - they weren't ruling out anything. That's what we were going along thinking - that it was something like an infection," said Rachel.

"The doctors kept doing tests and tests, we hoped so much that she'd wake up. They tried to see if there was any life left in her but there wasn't. They let me nurse her before they turned off the life-support machine,"

Then on Friday night, 15-month old Millie Martin died.

"I kissed and cuddled her, holding her in my arms. She was my perfect princess with a lovely smile and beautiful big eyes, and she should still be here,"

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 17 Dec 09

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