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A YOUNG BOY, carrying a teddy bear and a framed photo of four-year-old Kelsey, walked ahead of her small, white coffin as it was taken from a hearse in Springfield Cemetery in Bray yesterday.
Kelsey’s father, Willie Lynch, 25, her mother, Tara Gilbert, 27, her older sister Jodie, 9, and her uncle Jimmy Lynch, 39, had all gone before her.
Just one of the emotional scenes from the first of the Carrickmines funerals now etched in the minds of everyone who attended yesterday.
Earlier that day, hundreds lined the streets of Bray Main Street waiting for the arrival of a family that had been wiped out in one night.
As the bells tolled at the Holy Redeemer Church, five hearses and 10 limousines drove through the silent streets. From those hearses emerged three large silver caskets and two smaller white coffins, and on the shoulders of relatives – both men and women – those coffins were brought inside.
The church, packed to the rafters with members of the Traveller and settled communities, as well as politicians and representatives of the President and Taoiseach, had an atmosphere that was charged with disbelief and a sense of unimaginable loss.
“Three families, Lynch, Gilbert, and Connors, the entire Traveller community, and Ireland as a nation suffered a loss which is beyond words. There are no words… No words to take away the pain. No words to restore what has been lost,” said lead celebrant Father Derek Farrell.
These words echoed through the cries of babies in the church, a poignant reminder of the young lives lost in this tragedy.
One of the many young children in the church stood at the Book of Condolences, reading the kind words that mourners had written for the families.
Looking up to her mother, she asked what she should write. “That you are sad about what has happened.”
With five coffins sitting before the altar, that emotion and pain could be seen on the faces of everyone in the church that day.
Despite the crowds present, Communion was carried out seamlessly, with the song The Prayer, performed in the style of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, performed in the background. It brought a tear to the eye of even the strongest of mourners.
Words from family members, such as Stuart Gilbert, painted the picture of a happy family and made their personalities come to life.
Tara was described as a fantastic mother, whose children meant the world to her. Willie, a doting father, who would bring his girls everywhere. Jodie and Kelsey, two young girls, coming into their own, with their whole lives ahead of them. And Jimmy, the treasure of his family, who loved Elvis.
As the two-hour funeral came to a close, the caskets were carried once more down the aisle, as Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You played.
Little can anyone prepare for finding themselves standing next to two tiny children’s coffins. The grief felt by all at that moment was palpable.
Journey to the cemetery
From there, the cortège made its way along a separate route to Springfield Cemetery, about two kilometres away. Mourners slowly made there way up Bray Main Street to the final resting place of the young family.
“It doesn’t bear thinking about,” said one woman in the cemetery. Gripping her rosary beads, she said what had happened was everyone’s worst nightmare.
As young children played around the graves, one by one the coffins were carried over.
Relatives held each other as a decade of the rosary was said. Each decade was dedicated to something – the family, the relatives, and one to all the young children present there, that nothing of this sort should happen to them.
As the funeral song was played by bagpipes, a teddy bear made of flowers was placed on the grave, as was a flower-framed large poster of characters from the the cartoon Frozen.
A mourner placed a statue of Mary on the grave.
One resting place for one family: the kind of ending we hope we should never see again.
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A very sad day for all tears in my eyes my god be with u all RIP
May they all rest in peace and may their families find solace from the many people that share their grief
This is going to sound not right but I guarantee that there were a number of people there just to have a good gawk at who was there, see if they got their pace in the paper, tv, etc. These people will then go home & brag to the neighbours that they were at the funeral & you will never believe who was there, the state of her. But I guarantee if a traveller family moved in beside them or in their estate they would be up in arms, Straight down to their local TD, etc. There is a very nice traveller family living in my estate. If you were stuck for anything they would be the 1st to stand up & offer help, more help than some of the residents. Their kids well mannered, well spoken. Both well educated parents.
People red thumbing others commenting on the sadness of the deaths of a young family including children, need to take a long hard look at themselves. Personally, I feel sorry for people doing that, and relief that no one I know personally is that f@**ed up.
God rest them, a beautiful family to all who knew them. RIP
People are only doing red thumbs down to see what reactions they can get. Ignore these sad individuals as they have nothing else meaningful to say.
Shocking sad, we are all family people, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters etc, no family should ever suffer what has happened to these people, we are all at the end of the day regardless of belief or race the same.
May their souls rest of peace.
Such a sad day and another family to be laid to rest today also.
May they all rest in peace.
It is up to their rest of us to make sure that nothing like this happens ever again.
We as a society must ensure their surviving family are looked after and not subjected to any unnecessary stress.
I cannot imagine how they are suffering in their grief.
Dreadful sadness.
my heart goes out to their loved ones, rest in peace angels, xxxxx
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