Sheer disbelief in village where balloons bearing couple’s names are still tied to a road sign after their wedding two weeks ago
INTENSE GRIEF brought with it a deep silence around the Harte family home outside the village of Ballygawley yesterday.
As the profound shock settled, funeral preparations began at the house which just two weeks ago was celebrating Michaela Harte’s marriage to John McAreavey.
Tied to a road sign a short distance away were two balloons bearing the names of the couple and a home-made “wedding” sign pointed to the little church of St Malachy at Ballymacilroy where the ceremony had taken place.
“Michaela was just one in a million, she was a wonderful role model,” said Fr Gerard McAleer, a close family friend who, along with Bishop John McAreavey, an uncle of the groom, had officiated at the wedding.
“We often talked about the struggle between good and evil in the world and the importance of faith and coping with tragedy and grief and giving some kind of shape to our lives.
“To think this is the fate that awaited Michaela is beyond us.”
Pointing to a father-daughter relationship that went much deeper than the norm, Fr McAleer added: “She was the first person he would hug when that final whistle would go . . .
“I met Mickey yesterday immediately after I heard the news and he said ‘She packed so much into her young life and we have so much to be thankful for’ – how gracious in such a moment of intense grief.”
In the Dungannon school where Michaela taught, pupils gathered in shock to sign books of condolence while principal Fintan Donnelly prepared words to deal with the occasion.
“She was a consummate professional who was committed to her students, to the teaching of Irish and religious education,” he said at the school gates.
“A vibrant and popular teacher and colleague, she was an inspiration and example to all her pupils and she will be greatly missed by both staff and pupils.”
As darkness fell, Mickey Harte spoke to the media outside his home, supported by his sons Michael and Matthew. He paid tribute to his “gem” of a daughter and to his “devastated” son-in-law John.
Mr Harte’s other son, Mark, had earlier left to travel to Mauritius with John McAreavey’s brother.
Throughout the afternoon friends and family arrived quietly at the house, among them 1960s Down star Seán O’Neill and former senator Maurice Hayes.
Many of the visitors spoke of a particularly special and close bond between a father and his only daughter.
He doted on her, said former UTV sports presenter and close family friend Adrian Logan.
“He was totally devoted and just thought the world of her, he told me: ‘She’s my little jewel’,” he said.
“He refused to do any post-match interviews after those games until she stood beside him. That’s how much she meant to him. She was his number one fan.”
Born in 1983, she grew up in tandem with her father’s success as a football manager and she played a key, behind-the-scenes role in 2003 when Tyrone finally claimed their first All-Ireland.
A passionate Gaeilgeóir, the one-time Rose of Tralee contestant also gave support to her father when tragedy struck the team.
In 1997, a young player Paul McGirr collided with a goal keeper and later died. Then, in 2004, Tyrone captain’s Cormac McAnallen died suddenly in his sleep from an undetected cardiac problem.
Always by her father's side at big county games, he wrote of her in his autobiography Harte:"She loved her football. She was with me and my Tyrone teams from the beginning, helping with little jobs at training sessions, shredding tissues and rosary beads in the stands during matches."