Ireland

Cork man who survived 9/11 terror attack but who lost sister and niece in incident dies

Ron Clifford’s family members were on board one of the planes that hit World Trade Centre which he was also in at the time of the attack

Ron Clifford Photograph: The Late Late Show/RTÉ

Olivia Kelleher
Sat Dec 16 2023 - 15:46

The death has occurred of Cork man, Ron Clifford, who survived the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, only to be subsequently told that his sister and young niece had died in the incident.

Mr Clifford, who was in his late sixties, died at his home in Connecticut in the US on Friday night.

He lost his sister Ruth Clifford McCourt (44) and her daughter, Juliana (4) on 9/11 when their flight from Boston to Los Angeles hit the World Trade Center. In a remarkable coincidence, Ron was in the centre at the time of the attack but survived.

Ruth and her daughter were on a surprise trip to Disneyland when their lives were prematurely cut short.

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[ How the 9/11 attacks destroyed one Irish family ]

They were passengers on board the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 which was flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

Juliana’s godmother, Paige Farley Hackel, was on the second aircraft – American Airlines Flight 11 – which smashed into the other tower.

Ron Clifford was on his way to a business meeting in the Twin Towers at the time of the attack. He was in the ground floor when Ms Farley Hackel’s flight hit the building.

Despite being hit by falling debris, he helped to drag a badly injured woman to shelter.

In a documentary series on National Geographic to mark the 20th anniversary of the atrocity Mr Clifford said that he had shared the details of important business meeting that he had on September 11th, 2001, with Ruth.

Ruth advised him to “stand out” from the crowd at the meeting. He remembers getting a ferry to Manhattan that morning. Whilst on board a fellow passenger complimented him on his new suit and bright yellow tie. Life felt good. However, within a few hours his world had changed completely.

How the 9/11 attacks tore one Irish family apart

Listen | 23:26
Twenty years ago, on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, Mark Clifford was in Dublin attending the funeral of a friend, when he caught sight of a TV screen. What had happened changed his life forever. Plus: in 2001, Paddy Smyth was The Irish Times's Washington correspondent. He recalls the events of September 11th that have so shaped the world we live in today. 

Mr Clifford also spoke to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show on RTÉ 12 years ago. He said that the important meeting in the World Trade Center took place on a “very gorgeous morning”.

“I had a little bit of time on my hands so I walked around the lobby. While I was in the lobby the initial explosion happened and I thought it was maybe a ruptured fuel tank in the basement. I had no idea that a plane had crashed in to the tower.

“And after a while I spotted through a haze this woman who was badly burned. This Italian woman, Jennianne Maffeo, needed some help. So I sat her down in the lobby and I knew she had been on fire. So I wanted to douse her.

“So I ran in to got a plastic bag and filled it with water and doused her. She was still very alert but in a lot of pain. I couldn’t get over the fact that we weren’t getting any support or help. Nobody was running to us to help us.

“And after quite a while with her on the floor she told me she was a Catholic so I said ‘Let’s say the Lord’s Prayer’. While saying the prayer there was another incredible explosion and the whole building shook and I found out afterwards that that was Ruth and Juliana’s plane.”

He said that what occurred was an “incredible nightmare.” Ron said he would never forget the sounds and smells of the day or the sight of a fire man coming towards people shouting ‘Jesus Christ run.”

After Ron got Ms Maffeo in to an ambulance he managed to board a ferry home to New Jersey. It was his daughter Monica’s 11th birthday. However, he was only home a few hours when they were informed of the passing of Ruth and Juliana.

Ms Maffeo died 42 days later in hospital. However, her family were very grateful for all that Ron had done for her in her hour of need.

Ruth Clifford McCourt and her daughter Juliana (4). File photograph: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

In September of 2021 Ron Clifford gave an interview to the Echo newspaper in Cork in which he said that it was still hard to even think about what occurred on the day of the terrorist attack

“You wish that Ruth and Juliana were still here. David [Ruth’s husband] is gone now too and that family is now all gone.”

Ron said that he felt completely overwhelmed by what was then the 20th anniversary of the attack. He expressed his gratitude for the many good wishes he had received from people across the world as they marked two decades of loss in his family.

He also gave an interview to RTÉ News on the 20th anniversary of the attack in which he said that he was frustrated that the masterminds behind the attack were never brought to justice.

“You know the justice system here has prevented it. It has gone around in a circle for years. I hope in our lifetime we will get our day in court.

We have lived our lives since. I think that it the positivity that we give out as a family.”

Meanwhile, Ruth, who was originally from Ballintemple in Cork, is buried with her daughter Juliana at St Finbarr’s Cemetery in Glasheen in Cork City. In 2013, the husband of Ruth and father of Juliana, David McCourt, was laid to rest in the same cemetery following his death.

Juliana was one of eight children murdered by terrorists in co-ordinated plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington DC.

The mother and daughter were among 2,996 people killed in the incident. A third hijacked plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania as passengers fought back against the terrorists.

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