A rural cemetery was filled with grief as the family and friends of Wojciech Panek laid his ashes to rest, on the edge of the medieval village of Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny on Friday.
Wojeich was one of three teenagers who died when the car they were in went off Menlo Pier located on the River Corrib on the outskirts of Galway city at around 2.40am last Saturday.
Nestled beneath the Blackstairs mountains, his ashes were placed in his final resting place in Calvary Cemetery — just metres from his home in Cois Na Bearu — by his grief-stricken mother Katarzyna, father Grzegoz and younger sister Viktoria.
Up to 300 mourners began to gather in the cemetery for the internment of his ashes from 1.30pm. Many of his friends travelled from nearby Thomastown where his family once lived and was a past pupil at Grennan College Secondary School.
Grennan College students past and present formed a guard of honour as his ashes were carried by his mother Katarzyna into the cemetery.
Wojciech was due to turn 18 just days after his death in the early hours of last Saturday along with two other teenagers. He was in his second year as an apprentice carpenter at GRETB Training Centre Galway.
Last weekend, gardaí said they received a report of a car in the water at Menlo Pier and the teenagers were taken from the water and transferred to University Hospital Galway by emergency services.
Both Wojciech and 16-year-old John Keenan were pronounced dead shortly afterwards. The third teenager, 19-year-old Christopher Stokes, died in hospital on Saturday afternoon. The two other teenagers were buried on Wednesday.
Mother's parting words
One of the funeral directors read a message from Wojcieck’s mother to those gathered for the non-religious ceremony, which lasted 30 minutes.
The letter read: “Thank you to everyone gathered here to be with me and my family to bid a final farewell. It was and is important that he was and is important to so many friends and mothers.
“Although we all know that death is a part of life, it’s hard to accept it especially when you don’t understand it. The pain of losing a child is indescribable. Listen to me son, I want you to know that I’m not mad at you.
“I know that you didn’t want this and I know that if you had a feeling that something was going to happen you would have never have went there. So I can’t be mad at you and don’t be mad at yourself either because the situation you found yourself in would be hopeless for anyone.”
His mother’s letter continued: “Sometimes life is decided for that one moment over which we have no influence and you don’t know and I don’t either. Wojciech I want you to know that I, your Mum, your Dad, your brother (Kamil), your sister, uncle and grandmas, all of your friends aren’t exactly saying goodbye to you.
“For us you have always been, you are and always will be and that will never change. I love you my son and I promise you that I will be strong for you and all of us. I will just like before in fact this is only a temporary parting. I’m not going to cause you sadness and I know that you would not want that too. Take care of yourself dear and watch yourself. I guess I’ll see you on the other side of life.“
The letter was then read out to mourners in Polish.
As the ceremony drew to a close one of the teenager's favourite sons, Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros filled the chilly afternoon air.
A young mother who attended the internment, and whose child was friendly with Wojciech, said: “A nicer boy you could not meet. He could never do enough to help you — he was so kind and caring. Wojciech always had a smile on his face.”
