The town of Ennistymon in north Clare yesterday came to a standstill as the community joined in grief with the family of teenager Marguerite O'Dwyer, who died in her home earlier this week in tragic circumstances. Gordon Deegan reports.
At the funeral Mass, Father Anthony Miniter praised the brief but full life of the 17-year-old Leaving Cert student. "We have been stunned by the tragic death of Marguerite. The people of Ennistymon and the surrounding countryside are in deep shock. We are numbed at the suddenness of it all.
"For you Claire, Paddy and Louise and for all the people who loved her, her death has brought a great burden of sorrow and intolerable pain. Your whole world has been turned upside down.
"We all want to know why this has happened and we wonder was there something we could have done and we continue to ask questions. We ask the age-old question: Why? Why? Why?"
She "loved life and she lived her 17 years to the full", said Father Miniter. "At 17, Marguerite was a confident, intelligent and talented student who loved languages and music and was very determined to do her very best in her Leaving Cert in the coming year.
He described her "as a very reliable girl who could always be depended upon". Her "quiet, gentle exterior could be deceptive at times, for Marguerite was a fun-loving girl, good-humoured, full of the joys of life. She had lots of friends, lot of friends she was very good to.
"In her last year in school, she had left the shyness of her teenage years behind and she blossomed into a fine and attractive young woman. She brought great joy to her family and they loved her dearly."
On behalf of the family, Father Miniter thanked the community for the solidarity and support they had shown to the family and he also thanked the local gardaí.
In a tribute at the end of the Mass, Marguerite's best friend, Caoifhlionn Haran, said it was a privilege to have known her. She recalled the black-haired girl with the illuminating smile and sparkle in her eye whom she first met 12 years ago.
Caoifhlionn said her friend was witty, kind and warm-hearted. "She was always there for me and for anyone with a problem. She always listened, never judged.
"Like any teenager, she had her worries, but she knew what she wanted out of life. Her ambition never came before family and friends who were so important to her and she to them."
The congregation then heard the Scoil Mhuire choir sing one of Marguerite's favourite songs Bring Flowers of the Rarest. Outside the church, Scoil Mhuire classmates formed a guard of honour as her coffin was carried to the waiting hearse. She was laid to rest in the new cemetery in Ennistymon.