108 Irish runners competed in the Boston marathon and all seemed to be accounted for safely, according to Irish authorities. Two bombs went off on the route and 3 were reported dead with 142 injured, many seriously.
One of the dead has been named as 8-year-old Martin Richard from Dorchester who had attended the race to see his dad run. His mother and sister are said to be in critical condition also while another sister was unharmed.
The building in which the Irish consulate in Boston is housed is near the finish line for the marathon on Boylston Street and was evacuated by police.
Consul General Michael Lonergan told IrishCentral that they were checking on every Irish participant in the race. The consulate was also referring callers to a Dublin number for more information.
One Irish runner had just crossed the line when the explosion happened.
Gerry Carr (54) told the Irish Independent: "I'd just come through the finishing line, about a hundred yards through the finish line.
"I just heard this explosion behind . . . I would have been gone through the line about 20 seconds, I'd say. I looked back and there was a big puff of smoke . . . All hell broke loose."
A group of ten Irish runners from the College of Surgeons in Ireland also took part in the race. All were reported well at their hotel a few blocks from the end of the marathon where the entire hotel was under lockdown.
The group had been in town for several days and had attended a marathon reception with Mayor Tom Menino.
Meanwhile, a Northern Ireland competitor had a rough experience trying to locate his wife.
Ballymena man Eamonn Loughran told the Irish Times he spent “the worst three hours of my life” waiting to see if his wife Angela was safe .
She had been due to stand at the finish line to watch him and he finished just before the bombs hit and could not find her. “For three hours I didn’t know where she was and I really started to panic,” he said. “I was really, really worried.”
She could not get space at the winning line and stood elsewhere “There must have been a guardian angel watching her, stopping her from getting off at that station,” he said.
“I’ve never prayed so much in my life,” he said. “When she walked into the hotel I was so relieved.”
Cell phone service was down and she had difficulty getting back to the hotel.
Connell Gallagher, Publisher of the Irish Emigrant newspaper, stated that the Irish community in Boston were deeply shocked by events.
Irish leader Enda Kenny sent his condolences to the people of Boston.
"On behalf of the Irish people, I am sending our sympathy and support to Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick and to the people of Boston who have been devastated by this senseless and terrible event," the Taoiseach said in a statement.
Here's ABC News' latest report:
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