Members of Cork's senior hurling team formed a guard of honour at the funeral yesterday of a former player with the county's minor hurling team.
Patrick O'Keeffe, a vet from Buttevant, Co Cork, was killed in a car crash in Kildare last Friday morning. He died when the car he was driving collided with a parked truck in Naas.
Cork's hurling stars including Seán Óg Ó hAilpín formed a guard of honour at his removal to St Mary's Church in Buttevant on Sunday. They repeated the gesture at his funeral yesterday at 2pm.
At the funeral Mass the hurlers undertook the guard of honour with the assistance of Mr O'Keeffe's former classmates at University College Dublin. The vet's exploits on and off the pitch were fondly remembered yesterday by the hundreds of friends who turned up to say their final farewells. Canon Michael Harrington said the whole village was in shock following the death of the popular 30-year-old. He is survived by his parents, Eddie and Mary, his two sisters and a brother.