There were harrowing scenes at Boolavogue on Saturday morning as Mary Dunne arrived to bury a third son.
She left her home in Clonroche, south Co Wexford, and travelled to the little village of Boolavogue beyond Enniscorthy for the most public of funerals for her son, Adrian. At 10.50am, a Garda car glided to a halt outside St Cormac's Church, followed by the cortege.
Mrs Dunne, who like her late son, is visually impaired, appeared close to collapse from exhaustion and grief, and she wept audibly as she was physically assisted by family members from her car to the church. It was the third occasion that the mother-of-nine had come to bury a son here.
Just a month ago, her son James died by suicide. In 1979, her son Vernon died during infancy. And last year, her husband, Hugh, died. All are buried in the adjacent graveyard. She was also grieving for her daughter- in-law Ciara, and granddaughters Léan and Shania, whom she had waked at her home before their removal to Co Donegal on Friday morning.
Adrian Dunne's coffin, draped with a yellow "away strip" jersey of Liverpool Football Club, was carried to the church door and received by clergy. The procession was halted in the vestibule, where a family member carrying a ghetto-blaster played the football club's anthem You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and The Pacemakers.
Mr Dunne had stipulated that the song be played in the church - one of the now infamous detailed instructions drawn up for his own funeral and those of his wife and daughters - with funeral directors in New Ross 10 days ago. But events and family wishes meant few of those instructions were to be fulfilled.
A congregation numbering an estimated 150 people had assembled for the Requiem Mass. Along with Mrs Dunne, the chief mourners were her six surviving children: Laurence, Maureen, Bridget, Natasha, Sebastien and Cornelius. Among the concelebrants were the Parish Priest of Monageer, Fr William Cosgrave; curate of Boolavogue, Fr Michael Byrne; and family friend, Fr Richard Redmond, who was the last person to have visited the Dunne family in their home at Monageer.
In his homily, Fr Redmond spoke of "emotions that are almost impossible to handle" and said "the prayers of people right across the nation from the southeast to the northwest" were being offered for the Dunne and O'Brien families. He announced that Bishop Brennan of Ferns, who was attending a confirmation ceremony elsewhere in the diocese, had sent a message of condolence.
Public figures who attended included Wexford TDs John Browne (FF), Paul Kehoe and Liam Twomey (FG), Brendan Howlin (Lab) and MEP Avril Doyle (FG). Three uniformed members of the Garda were also present. Mr Dunne's coffin was carried to a grave some distance away from where his father and two brothers are buried.
Shortly before noon, as priests, altar boys, mourners, gravediggers, gardaí and members of the media stood beneath blue skies and warm sunshine awaiting the final blessing and prayers of committal, the family honoured a last request. A portable public address unit installed at the graveside was switched on and for eight extraordinary minutes the air pulsated to the sounds of 1970s English rock band Led Zeppelin's song Stairway to Heaven.
Gardaí in Co Wexford are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the discovery of the bodies of the Dunne family at Monageer last Monday.
Postmortem results have not yet been released. A separate inquiry is being undertaken by the Health Services Executive and, at the request of Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, Kilkenny-based Supt Pat Mangan is conducting an internal investigation into the Garda's handling of the tragedy.
