Hundreds of people from Dublin and Co Roscommon gathered yesterday afternoon to pay their last respects to Carl and Catherine Doyle, who were found dead at their homes in Carane, Co Roscommon, on Saturday. A man appeared in court on Sunday charged with the murder of the couple.
Members of their families wept and comforted each other as they stood before the two coffins - each bore a red rose - during a concelebrated Requiem Mass yesterday afternoon at St Croan's Church, Ballymoe, Co Roscommon.
The Doyles, who had moved to Co Roscommon under a rural resettlement programme, had been well received by the local community, according to Father Seamus Cox, parish priest of Ballintubber.
During the service, a neighbour and friend from Dublin, Mr Joe Healy, played guitar and sang Going Home, Let it Be and How Great Thou Art.
The chief celebrant, Father Cox, conveyed the sympathy of the Bishop of Elphin, Dr Christopher Jones, to the bereaved families and assured them of his prayers. He then spoke of his personal sorrow at seeing - on the previous day - two lovely young people side-by-side in death. He thanked the wider Doyle family for allowing the remains of their loved ones to be brought to the parish.
He said the Doyle family had found great contentment in their peaceful rural surroundings. All the congregation's thoughts and prayers were with the couple's four children and the heartbroken Doyle family. The impact of their loss would be felt widely in the area.
Father Cox asked for prayers for Catherine Doyle's sister, Sarah Jane, who is still in hospital, and her two children. He also spoke about Catherine's brother, Richard, who had died in recent weeks. He thanked local people for the support they had given to the Doyles.
The other celebrants were Father Alan Conway CC, of Ballymoe, Roscommon; Father Jim Casey PP, of Cloverhill, Dublin; Fr Joe Gill PP, of Morden, Surrey; and Fr Eamonn Cahill, of Donaghmede, Dublin.
The coffins were taken to St Ciaran's Church, Hartstown, Co Dublin. The couple will be buried today in Mulhuddart cemetery, Co Dublin, after 10 a.m. Mass.