Eilidh MacLeod

Eilidh MacLeod, aged 14, from Barra, Outer Hebrides was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing.

On 22 May 2017, at approximately 10:31 p.m., Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British-Libyan man born in Manchester to Libyan parents, carried out a suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena in England at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. 

Abedi, a UK citizen who had recently returned from Libya, detonated a TATP-based nail bomb packed with shrapnel in the City Room foyer, killing 22 people (including children) and injuring 1,017 others (239 with physical injuries). 

His younger brother, Hashem Abedi (also British-Libyan), helped source materials and coordinate the attack from Libya; he was later convicted in the UK of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to cause an explosion, receiving a life sentence with a minimum term of 55 years. 

Eilidh MacLeod went to the Ariana Grande concert with a friend, who suffered serious injuries in the attack.

The teenager loved make-up, her phone, social media, music, Harry Potter and playing in pipe bands. 

Her father Roderick said her talent at piping had brought her confidence, adding: “She was growing into a lovely young woman with this fantastic gift she was able to express herself with.”

Her mother Marian said she had been a “quirky” girl who “wasn’t hard to love”, while her aunt Margaret said she was “a blonde-haired, green-eyed bundle of fun with perfect quips, one-liners and an infectious laugh”.

Rest in peace Eilidh. You will not be forgotten.