He tells of seeing her for last ever time

The heartbroken young man also opened up about the harrowing moment he received a call to be told something awful had happened to the love of his life on the afternoon of January 12, 2022.

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He last spoke to Ashling in person on the 10th - a stark memory now etched in his brain after they decided not to touch one another due to Covid restrictions.

He said: “We had Covid in the house at the time. I didn't have it but we were isolating.

“And she had done the shopping for us on the 10th, so we couldn't go anywhere.

“She brought in the shopping and she left it at the doorstep and I brought it in. There was a moment.

“She was just about to sit into her car and we kind of latched eyes for a second. I can't even describe it. In the aftermath I thought about it a lot.

“Huge regret around that moment obviously. Why didn't I just say feck the restrictions, who cares.

“Why didn’t I just hold her.”

They stayed chatting over the phone the next day, Ryan said, and were texting on the morning before Ashling went for her run.