A vigil took place in Stephen’s Green at 2pm today for the One Direction star where fans gathered with flowers, balloons, pictures, and merchandise of the band.
Orla, who is just 14, showed up in a One Direction jacket.
“The first time I remember them was when they were on the episode of iCarly. I remember watching the episode over and over,” she said.
“I never got to see them live but I always hoped I would.
“I was reading my book, and my cousin texted me and I went on to Instagram and I thought it was a joke. Everyone started posting it and then I just burst into tears.
“I came here out of respect, I love Liam.”
Fans Michelle and her daughter Kate also attended the memorial.
“We just wanted to come to the memorial because One Direction has been so special and in Kate’s life, she always had One Direction when she had nobody else,” Michelle said.
“She had their music. We used to drive to school and listen to One Direction albums in the car. It’s a core memory.”
Kate added: “When I had no one, I could just put on my headphones and watch the videos and listen to their music. I didn’t really have that many friends growing up, it was like they were my friends. It’s really hard now that he’s gone.
“I haven’t done anything since I found out. It’s just been tears on the bed and watching all the old videos.
“When I went [to a One Direction concert], they put me on the screen. I had a Harry t-shirt on me. Niall and Liam were like ‘Harry you have a fan.’ I couldn’t believe they noticed me.
“We go to all the concerts, we’ve seen Niall, Louis, and Harry. We were meant to be collecting their solo gigs like Infinity stones. We’re seeing Zayn in London later this year, but we’ll never see Liam now.”
Isabelle, who was one of the first people to arrive at the vigil, said that “Liam was such a big part of our childhood growing up”.
“The people we are today because of that band. Their music helped us through a lot. Especially during Covid. They shaped the past decade of our lives.
“So many people are hurting over this all over the world, it’s just devastating for his little boy, his family, and the boys especially because we’re hurting so much. But they’re feeling it 10 times worse than we are. We’re here to grieve for him. But we’re also here to celebrate his life and how special the person he was.
“I’m here to celebrate his kindness and the way he made everything about the fans, even though he was going to the darkest times, but he always made sure we were happy and having a good time, he did that until the last day.
“I started supporting One Direction on The X Factor when I was 3, so I grew up with them. I’ve been in shock. I can’t process it, I still don’t believe it, he really is gone.”
