It was not the area's first fishing tragedy but for the hundreds of mourners who gathered in Co Down yesterday, it was the most poignant. They came in heavy rain to bury the three Michaels - father, son and grandson.
Three generations of the Greene family died when their fishing boat, the Tullaghmurry Lass, sank in calm waters on Valentine's Day. It took two months to recover the bodies. The first to be buried was Michael snr (54).
Around 600 people gathered for Requiem Mass at St Coleman's Church in Kilkeel. Four hours later, they buried Michael jnr (32), and young Michael (8), in the cemetery at St Joseph's Church in Ballymartin. The child's small white coffin was carried alongside the oak one his father lay in.
Mrs Kathleen Greene, who lost both her husband and son, looked numb with grief as she walked beside the coffins. Occasionally, she reached out to touch the pall-bearers. Tierna Greene carried a red rose, entwined with white ribbon, and a picture of her father.
The police divers who recovered the bodies, and the crew of the Ken Vickers, the fisheries protection team, who brought them ashore, helped carry the coffins.
At both funerals, a guard of honour was formed by members of Ballymartin GAA. Michael snr had been involved with the club for decades and young Michael played football for it.
Father Michael Murray told mourners that Michael snr was a caring husband, father and grandfather. "He always had a smile on his face - that was the way he lived his life . . . In the weeks and the months ahead, in our moments of darkness, we will let those moments bring us light and help ease our pain."
At Requiem Mass in Ballymartin, Father Murray described Michael jnr as a loving and devoted husband and young Michael as a child brimming with life.
He paid tribute to all who had helped to search for the bodies. Neither the police nor marine accident investigators will comment on the cause of the accident but there is speculation that their boat was hit by a much larger vessel, possibly a submarine.