Young woman murdered in Nottingham came from well-known Irish medical family

One of the students murdered in Tuesday’s attacks in Nottingham came from a high-profile family of Irish doctors.

Grace O’Malley-Kumar, a 19-year-old medical student who was stabbed to death on Tuesday alongside her friend, fellow student Barnaby Webber, is the daughter of Irish-born, London-based consultant anaesthetist, Sinead O’Malley.

The murdered woman’s grandfather is Professor Kevin O’Malley, who is also an anaesthetist as well as a former registrar and chief executive of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). He subsequently moved to the Middle East to help establish the RCSI’s college in Bahrain, where he was its founding president and still holds an emeritus position.

The two young students were among three people murdered in Nottingham in a series of violent attacks on Tuesday morning. School caretaker Ian Coates (65) was stabbed to death in a second incident, while another man and woman were injured by a suspect who drove a van at a bus stop.

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A 31-year-old man was arrested nearby by Nottingham police, who are being assisted in their investigation by UK counter intelligence officers, who are examining if terrorism was a motive.

Thousands of people joined a vigil in the University of Nottingham on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims.

The fathers of the two students killed stood side by side as they thanked those present for their support.

Speaking with David Webber’s hand on his shoulder, Sanjoy Kumar said: “All of you guys, everywhere that I see, a sea of people, such a lovely sign of the university and the bond you have...

“The love that we have out here, I just wish we had it everywhere. So, look after each other is the big thing.

“Look after your friends and look after people around you. It is so important.”

“We have children who were taken away prematurely from us and that should never happen to any parent. But all I can say is all of you, thank you for the things you did for our daughter and Barney. And look out for each other.”

Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s family said she was “an adored daughter and sister” to her brother James.

“Grace was not just a sister to James but his best friend. He is completely heartbroken. As parents, words cannot explain our complete and utter devastation. She will be so dearly missed,” said the family.

Ms O’Malley-Kumar, a talented hockey player who played at underage level for England, moved from her northeast London home to the central England city of Nottingham to study medicine at the university there, following in her family’s medical tradition.

Her father, Sanjoy Kumar, is also a doctor at a medical practice in Essex, while on her mother’s side in Ireland, there are doctors going back three generations. Sinead O’Malley’s great-aunt, Sarah Joyce O’Malley, was the first Irish head of the Association of Anaesthetists in the 1930s.

In 2009, Grace’s father was hailed as a hero in the UK after he helped to save the lives of three teenage stabbing victims who stumbled into his surgery. Two years later Mr Kumar was awarded a royal honour, when he was made a member of the order of the British empire (MBE).

Grace’s mother Sinead O’Malley, who is believed to have also studied at the RCSI in Dublin where her father worked, has been as a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Free hospital in London. The family is deeply involved in sports, including local cricket clubs.

On several occasions online in recent years, Sinead O’Malley, a past student of Dublin hockey bastion Alexandra College, also proudly highlighted her daughter’s underage England hockey exploits. During the pandemic, she also spoke of how Grace had assisted with the setting up of a local vaccination clinic in northeast London, designing a logo to encourage people to get vaccinated.

In a statement released through Nottingham police, her family said they were “so incredibly proud of Grace’s achievements and what a truly lovely person she was”.

“She was resilient and wise beyond her years. Grace was so happy in life fulfilling her ambition of studying to become a doctor whilst playing topflight hockey at university. She leaves behind devastated extended family and friends,” they said.

The O’Malley family in Ireland has been contacted by The Irish Times through a third party.

The Irish embassy in London said it and the Department of Foreign Affairs were “aware of the tragic incident in Nottingham and are ready to provide consular assistance if required”.