The sister-in-law of Mr Chris Crowley, who shot dead his six-year-old daughter, Deirdre, and himself last week, yesterday said he had acted out of love and people did not understand the full story.
Ms Angela Crowley made her comments on the Niall Prendeville radio programme on Cork's 96 FM. She was responding to a discussion on the programme with a clinical psychologist who suggested that in such cases there was often a history of a violent or abusive family.
Ms Crowley said: "The Crowley family are a very happy, dignified family and his father was one of the most gentle people that I have ever known . . . it's extremely unprofessional for somebody to come on air and make a suggestion or even hint of that when Chris is being buried today - it's absolutely appalling."
Ms Crowley said there was another side to the story "that will come out in the fullness of time and we're not prepared to discuss at this stage when he's only being buried today". She said "there's a lot more that's gone on here that nobody knows about or probably will know nothing about.
"We've held our dignity all the way and we don't want his name or his father's name to be taken in such a way on the day of his funeral . . . it's rubbish in relation to Chris's case absolutely . . . "What he did, what he did last Thursday he did out of love and nothing else . . . there's another story and I'm not going to go into it now. It's up to everybody to interpret it as they want to, but that's our interpretation of it and we know the full story."
Mr Crowley's former partner, Deirdre's mother, Ms Christine O'Sullivan, was among the large attendance at the Way of the Cross Church in Togher yesterday for the funeral service.
Ms O'Sullivan was greeted by many sympathisers as well as members of the Crowley family.
In his homily Father Michael O'Riordan said people should remember there were two elements to the tragedy. There was the intense suffering and anguish felt by the Crowley family and Ms O'Sullivan, and the sorrow they had to endure at their loss.
"There is no gainsaying the immense suffering at the loss of a little girl who lived just six years of her beautiful life and of Chris, a young man who had so many good things to say and whose life was also cut short.
"Tenderness and love was part of this. It's obvious that Chris did what he did out of tenderness and immense love, some might say excessive love . . .
"Also there is the love of Christine who left no stone unturned to find her daughter. We could go on analysing this forever. It's better that we put it all in the hands of God because that's not our business. We are putting the situation in the hands of the living God. God sees all angles, all the factors of situations. He welcomes, not condemns, that's our prayer this morning," Father O'Riordan said.
Mr Crowley was buried at St Finbarr's Cemetery in a private ceremony later.