Parents speak of pride for their son who gave them 20 years of love

CIARÁN SWEENEY:AS CIARÁN Sweeney's coffin was carried into Clonmany church at 1pm yesterday, to the strains of Wonderwall, the myriad connections within the Inishowen Peninsula were evident.

His was the second funeral within a few hours in the same church. The first had been that of Ciarán’s great friend, Paul Doherty, whose parents, Felix and Sally, were here again, dazed and exhausted, having just buried their own son.

With an extraordinary feat of willpower, Ciarán’s parents, Éamon and Claire, addressed mourners from the altar, saying Ciarán had given them 20 years of love and happiness and they could not be more proud of him.

They were “so glad”, said Éamon, that Ciarán had found love “of a different kind outside of home, with his girlfriend Catherine Anne. We know he loved her, as do we. He couldn’t have found a nicer girl.”

Catherine Anne is also the sister of Shaun Kelly, the driver of the car in which Ciarán died, who remains in intensive care in Letterkenny hospital.

Éamon Sweeney also had another clear message to send out on behalf of his family: “Claire, Rory, Owen, Orla and myself want it to be made perfectly clear that we do not hold [responsible] or blame Shaun or anyone else, in any way, for the loss of our beautiful son and brother.”

He added that Ciarán had always looked forward to the Clonmany festival. “Chances are where he’s going, there will be a Clonmany festival too, or an Oxegen”.

Something Ciarán said to them last week summed up his character perfectly: “Sure no one goes to Oxegen to listen to the music – everyone goes for the craic, he said,” provoking a rare bout of laughter.

The funeral celebrant, Fr Michael Sweeney, who knew Ciarán well as the family had lived beside him before moving to their current home, said he had watched Ciarán grow into a fine young man. “Intelligent, and you were always at ease in his company. He had a great sense of humour.”

He told a story of the last time Donegal was playing in Croke Park and Fr Sweeney had hung two big Tricolours on his gate. “They looked very well there. I had two friends over from England and we were sitting in the front room and one said there were a few lads out there with those flags.”

The next thing, Ciarán and Paul and Dara were at the door, with Ciarán asking: “Is this the headquarters of Sinn Féin?”

“They were terrific lads and I will miss them greatly, as will the whole community. He was irreplaceable in his own home. For a period when Éamon was unwell, Ciarán became a father figure to his brothers and sister and was a tremendous support to Claire.”

The music reflected a young man with broad tastes. Oasis's Wonderwalland Don't Cryby Guns Roses, performed by Neil and Mariesa Kemmy, were capped by a personal  appearance by Mike Denver, a much-loved country singer in the region. He chose the more reflective Absent Friends to accompany the sombre walk to the adjoining cemetery, where Ciarán was laid to rest close by his friend. They will be joined there today by 23-year-old James McEleney.