The possible dangers facing two Co Mayo sisters killed in a road accident in Bolivia last week were recorded in a letter they sent to their family days before their death.
The letter was read out by an uncle, Mr Joe Byrne, at the sisters' packed funeral Mass in Aghamore, Ballyhaunis, yesterday. Ms Ann Marie O'Loughlin (25), who was killed while travelling in a jeep with her sister Niamh (23), had written: "None of the roads in Bolivia are paved and we are expecting to journey many more rough roads in our travels. Our next trip will be along a road called "Death Road". We will write and tell you all about it at the time."
The women died when a jeep they were in plunged over a ravine, killing all nine passengers.
Ten priests concelebrated the Mass yesterday, which was attended by more than 1,000 mourners. The President, Mrs McAleese, sent a message of condolence regretting that two young lives could be cut short in such tragic circumstances.
Ann Marie and Niamh O'Loughlin were daughters of Noel and Mary O'Loughlin. A younger daughter, Orla, a student at University College Dublin, is the only surviving child.
Father John Walsh, Aghamore's parish priest, said it was a terribly sad time for the parish. The sisters were talented individuals who had lived life to the full. Chief concelebrant at the Mass, Father Billy Lyons, a cousin of the O'Loughlins, said the news of the deaths had shocked all those who knew and loved them. They were young women of whom any family would be proud.
"It is heart-rending to see a father and mother laying to rest two of their daughters. It is heartrending to see a sister at the funeral Mass of her two older sisters. It goes against the grain of nature and the very thrust of life itself. It is almost impossible to understand why Ann Marie and Niamh were taken from us."
Father Lyons added it was important to remember the other families around the world who had also lost people in the tragedy, especially the McGee family in Donegal, for the loss of the girls' friend and travelling companion, Ms Eugenie McGee.
"Ann Marie, a graduate in European studies, was also a fine writer and had contributed many articles to the parish magazines. She was a fearless traveller and had been travelling almost solo around South America before she was joined by her sister, Niamh. She had a social conscience and brilliance of mind.
"Niamh, a graduate of English and media studies, was remarkable for her eternal good humour and was a great ambassador for her local secondary school. She was a keen musician and had dramatic ability and was someone who could make the most of the present moment."
Both of the girls were never over-interested in material things, he said.