A community has gathered to mourn as the funeral of a 16-year-old boy took place on Saturday.
The boy, church and town where the funeral took place cannot be named due to Irish law.
The Irish Times reports that hundreds gathered outside the church where the funeral took place, though just 10 mourners were permitted to enter due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Those in attendance gathered around the church gates, along the road and across the street.
There was a large number of young people present, while one woman held balloons in the colours of the boy’s football team and another man had “RIP” and the boy’s named stencilled on his car.
Other young people wore white hoodies with an image of the boy on them, black t-shirts with an image of the boy and the date of his death, and t-shirts with the words “Forever Young” written on them.
Some mourners held up cards with the boy’s photograph and the words “died a hero” underneath.
Funeral service
The boy’s coffin was carried in a white horse-drawn hearse, while another rider rode ahead on a black horse, covered with a flag bearing the boy’s name and a picture of him on the football field.
Some of the boy’s relatives and over a hundred young people walked behind the hearse, while the boy’s football teammates lined up in a guard of honour.
Mourners watched a livefeed of the funeral service on phones from outside of the church.
During the service, personal items including the boy’s football jersey, his boots, an energy bar and a bottle of Lucozade were brought to the altar.
In his homily, the priest said a “dark cloud” had come over the community when the news of the boy’s death reached them.
The funeral heard anecdotes of the boy’s kindness, and he was described as a teenager who supported friends who were in trouble.
The boy had “a huge circle of friends and he would charm the birds off the trees with a smile and he’d charm the non-feathered birds as well.”
The boy’s team manager also spoke, thanking the fire brigade, the ambulance service, the gardaí, the funeral directors and the local community on behalf of the boy's family.
