THREE YOUNG friends were laid to rest within miles of each other in north Tipperary on Saturday after Requiem Masses attended by several thousand mourners.
Stuart Donnellan (14), Pádraig Bourke (16) and Adrian O'Brien (17) died in a car crash on the Nenagh to Dolla road last Wednesday evening. A teenage boy and girl who were also in the car are recovering from their injuries at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
The day of mourning began with the funeral of Stuart Donnellan in the Church of St Mary of the Rosary in Nenagh. Hundreds packed into the church to hear Fr Anthony McMahon welcome Stuart's parents Martina and Stuart, his eight siblings and his extended family and friends.
"I'm sure you'd rather be any other place in the world than here right now," he told the congregation. "I can see the suffering and the grief written on your faces."
Fr McMahon said it was hard to believe that he was talking about the death of someone so young. "It seems to go against the order of things for parents to be burying their children. It surely brings home to each one of us the need to take the greatest of care at all times."
He said Stuart's death had caused "great devastation and grief" to his family and very wide circle of friends.
He recalled how a garda called to the Donnellans' home on the previous day with items that had been recovered in the crash. They included a ring and a gold crucifix. "I know just how important their recovery was to his family," he said.
He recalled how Stuart's mother had asked him in recent days if Stuart was okay now. "There's only one person who can ensure that Stuart Donnellan is okay now and that his story isn't over, and that person is the Lord himself."
Several items were carried to the altar to remember the teenager, including a Liverpool jersey, an Arsenal scarf and a picture of footballer Steven Gerrard.
Fr McMahon said he had heard "many lovely memories" of Stuart in recent days. "He was a good friend, greatly loved." To the strains of the Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone, Stuart Donnellan's coffin was carried from the church and laid to rest in Ballinree, next to his uncle Martin and cousin Alan.
Two hours later, the village of Silvermines came to a standstill because of the volume of traffic travelling to the funeral of Pádraig Bourke (16).
Up to 2,500 mourners packed into Our Lady of Lourdes Church or stood outside because of the lack of space. More people just made their way directly to Kilmore Cemetery for the burial. Parish priest Fr Brendan Moloney said the church had probably never seen such a large congregation. The mourners were led by Pádraig's parents Séamus and Joan, brothers Mark, Enda, James and Damien and sisters Crystal, Siobhán, Charlene and Áine.
Gifts carried to the altar included a family photograph, a toy horse to signify his love of horses, Silvermines and Tipperary jerseys, a hurley and hair gel, to recall how "he never had a hair out of place".
Fr Moloney said many people from around the country had experienced similar grief and had contacted the parish in recent days to offer support. He said Pádraig was very special to his parents and siblings because he was "the baby of the family".
Pádraig's father Séamus said his son was also special because he was the only child in the family to be born in Silvermines. "And he wore the 'mines jersey with distinction," he said. Pádraig's brother James said the death was "a nightmare. It's the saddest day in the life of my family. But I believe God needed a good young lad, and by God . . . he got one".
To laughter, James recalled how his young brother was like "a mobile alarm clock" in the mornings as he called into his brothers' and sisters' bedrooms looking for a few euros before he left for school. And he told the congregation that if people felt a weight on their shoulders in the coming days, it would probably be Pádraig's guardian angel looking out for them.
Addressing the large congregation of young people, Fr Moloney said: "This is a time to look after one another. Don't leave anybody out, and you know, not just today but right through life. We all need friends." He said Pádraig's great legacy could be that his death had made people appreciate life and respect its fragility.
Adrian O'Brien (17) was also laid to rest on Saturday at Youghalarra cemetery in Newtown Co Tipperary.
Mourners attending the funeral arrived at the small country church more than an hour before the Mass began and sat in silence before the remains of the 17-year-old were brought from his home.
In his homily parish priest Fr Tim O'Brien said: "Every parent cares for their children, worries about them, loves them and regards each one as special. Every parent hopes that news of death or injury will never be about a child of theirs," he added.
Fr O'Brien welcomed all those who had travelled to be with Adrian's grieving parents Lancelot and Tina, brothers Shane (21) and Derek (18), and his grandmother Sarah. He said a message was sent from President McAleese assuring all the grieving families that they were in her thoughts and prayers. The Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh, had sent his "prayerful support and sympathy" from Peru where he is visiting priests.
Fr O'Brien spoke of Adrian O'Brien's great capacity for friendship and said his family had lost a much-loved son and brother who had "died before his time".