Brother wept when Ruth Clifford McCourt’s wallet was recovered virtually intact from wreckage

An Irish family who lost a devoted mother-of-one in the 9/11 terror attacks as she was bringing her daughter on a surprise trip to Disneyland wept when her wallet was recovered from the wreckage.

Cork-born Ruth Clifford-McCourt (45) and her daughter, Juliana (4), both died when their plane from Boston was hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001.

Ruth’s wallet, remarkably intact, was recovered during the painstaking search and recovery operation after the terror attacks.

Family members wept when they were finally able to hold the wallet and recall memories of their cherished Ruth and Juliana.

It later formed an emotive exhibit in the 9/11 Museum in New York.

In an incredible coincidence, the debris and burning fuel from the first plane to strike the World Trade Centre narrowly missed Ruth’s brother, Ronnie, who was sitting in a hotel lobby just across the towers concourse.

Ronnie became one of the heroes of 9/11 by helping drag the badly injured to safety after American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower – but he never realised until later that the United Airlines plane which struck the South Tower just 17 minutes later carried his sister and niece.

One woman Ronnie helped to safety, Jennieann Maffeo (40), had been doused in burning jet fuel.
To calm the terrified woman, Ronnie recited the Lord’s Prayer with her.

Ronnie later recounted what happened in the Emmy Award winning documentary, ‘9-11 – One Day in America.’

“(As she was loaded into an ambulance) I leaned over and said to her: ‘You’re going to make it. You’ve got to make it now.’ I couldn’t believe it (later) that I was literally saying the Lord’s Prayer with this woman on the ground when my sister’s plane hit (the tower). The most special people were killed. This was my world – never to be the same again,” he said.

Jennieann Maffeo spent 41 days in the specialist burn unit at Cornell Medical Centre in New York with horrific third degree injuries before losing her fight for life on October 22.

Ronnie – who was ceaseless in his campaign for justice for 9/11 victims – died in late 2023 aged just 69.

His obituary hailed him as “an American hero and a proud Irishman.”

Ruth’s brother, Mark, said there isn’t a day where their family do not think of Ruth, Juliana and Ronnie.

“If Ruth were here today we would just be probably sitting down, enjoying the fact that Juliana has grown up and become a beautiful 29 year old woman,” Mark told ‘All About Cork.’

Ruth’s remains were found and identified in the 9/11 wreckage nine months after the tragedy.
Her daughter’s remains were recovered and identified three months later.

The family were shocked when Ruth’s wallet was also found, remarkably intact despite what had happened.

“Ruth was an extremely organised person. I wept (when I held the wallet),” Mark said.

“Ruth’s family would just adore to have her back. But we have fabulous memories of Ruth. That is the most important thing to us.”

In 2013, Ruth’s heartbroken husband, David McCourt (71), lost a long battle with cancer and was buried in Ireland beside his adored wife and daughter.

The death of Ruth and Juliana became one of the tragic symbols of the September 11 attacks after they almost missed United Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles due to traffic.

Mark explained in 2013 that David’s wish was to be buried beside Ruth and Juliana at St Finbarr’s Cemetery in Cork.

“David visited Ireland (in 2012) for the September 11 anniversary to commemorate his family and he said then that he wanted to be buried by his wife and daughter,” he said.

“He never got over their deaths and just couldn’t come to terms with what happened. They were a happy and young family, who had plans and hopes for the future.”

The Clifford family initially presumed Ruth was safe as she lived in Boston but were worried for the safety of her brother, Ronnie, a New Jersey-based architect who often worked in Manhattan.

Ronnie Clifford campaigned for years for those responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks to be brought to justice.

“Only that (trials) will bring closure for a lot of the families,” he warned.

Mr Clifford said he was astonished to be asked by US prosecutors to take part in the 2006 trial of Zacharias Moussaoui, the French-born so-called ‘20th hijacker’.

He is now serving a life sentence in a federal prison with no prospect of parole.

Moussaoui (58) – who is being held at a super-max security prison in Colorado – remains the only person ever convicted in a US civil court for a crime relating to the 9/11 attacks.

Seven Irish-born people and around 18 who had direct ties to Ireland died in the terror attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and their aftermath.

However, of the total 2,977 victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, around 1,000 identified as having Irish-American heritage – one-in-three of all victims.