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THE FAMILY OF world university rowing bronze medalist, Ailish Sheehan, have paid tribute to the “ultimate warrior”, at her funeral mass in Kildimo, Co Limerick.
Ailish’s dreams of qualifying for the Olympics were cruelly snatched from her, just as she was emerging as one of Ireland’s great future hopes in world rowing, mourners heard.
On 4 September last, Ailish stood on the winner’s podium in Poznan, Poland, proudly holding aloft her world championship bronze medal as part of the Great Britain team.
Hours later she was on a life-support machine in hospital, after falling and hitting her head while out celebrating her victory. On 9 September, she passed away in the loving bosom of her heartbroken family.
Despite the darkness which overwhelmed their joy at witnessing Ailish blossom in Poland, her family proudly led a bright soundscape vision of her life, through the stratospheric orchestrations of the John Bowker Earthsong camp choir.
“At Ailish’s hospital bed in Poznan, we only saw her beautiful face and the tanned body of the ultimate warrior,” John Sheehan, Ailish’s father, and “number one fan” said.
Laughter spilled out of the hushed church as John smiled and recalled the important little milestones his daughter conquered along the way.
“While still a baby, around 18 months of age, and unable to move freely in a liquid filled nappy, (Ailish) ripped it off and flung it high into a bush, and ran laughing towards her Kerry cousins…,” John Sheehan said.
Helping Catherine bake a cake with her arm in a cast, Ailish was told to wash her hands, and she duly stuck the cast between her knees and pulled the plaster off for good. .. Snorkelling in Australia, she cut her hand, and was poisoned by a fish while feeding sausages to hundreds of fishes in a corrib.
Paying tribute to his daughter’s talents in sport, music, art, and of her love of nature, he said:
She created many waves in many ways…when she danced, waves were sent to the earth’s core. It was who Ailish was, that made us her greatest fans.
Magical imprint
The mass heard Ailish had cut a magical imprint in the memories of everyone she met, and that had achieved more in her short life than most would in a lifetime.
Last year the rising star was named an All American Athlete, a status reserved for the most outstanding amateur athletes in the US.
Early on in her career at Dooneen Athletics Club, Ailish won national titles in sliotar throwing, shot put and javelin. She rowed for Ireland after joining St Michael’s Rowing Club, Limerick.
Excelling in sport she won a scholarship to Notre Dame, Indiana – the home of the Fighting Irish, where she fulfilled her dream of rowing four US NCAA Finals with her “shamrock sisters”.
In her memory, a guard of honour was performed on the main street by representatives from Dooneen AC and Kildimo GAA Club as well as students from Ailish’s former school, Salesians Secondary College, Pallaskenry.
Former team mates from University of London Boat Club; Notre Dame, Indiana; St Michael’s, Limerick, held up rowing oars over her wicker coffin buttered with wild flowers as it was shouldered high into the church.
Ailish’s sister Niamh, described her as “beautiful, strong, and courageous”.
In a touching tribute from the altar she added:
When Ailish Sheehan hit South Bend, Indiana, a whirlwind came to town, and their world was rocked for the better.
Ailish’s mother Catherine thanked their neighbours and friends, and the medics in Poland who treated her daughter with “expert care”.
She also paid a special tribute to one of Ailish’s friends who performed first aid on her after her fall.
Thank you to Jacob, who resuscitated Ailish at the scene of the accident. Although her injuries were not compatible with life, he got her breathing until the paramedics came. That gave us time to be with her in hospital, and a time to be with each other.
“We cried, we laughed, we remembered for five precious days,” Catherine said.
Chief celebrant, Fr Joe Foley, said she had “a presence so potent, it’s remembrance will long remain as a living thing”.
Ailish, “gentle-hearted and iron-willed”, is to be cremated following a private family ceremony, in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, on Monday.
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Shane on every Irish MEP who voted down these amendments, I’d wager all of their salaries none of them can adequately explain what they were voting on, the possible consequences of the vote or even why they voted how they did
*Shame
I doubt half of them even read the whole bill.
How can we find out who voted and what way they voted?
…they didn’t read it cos Fidelma forgot the Whiffy code. again….
After she was R/Fraped on Facebook
As long as I can still see the sexy ladies tis grand!!
Laying the groundwork for TTIP…
You certainly hit the nail on the head with that one.
The US just signed the Cisa Cybersecurity bill yesterday …27 October
Cisa would “allow ‘voluntary’ sharing of heretofore private information with the government, allowing secret and ad hoc privacy intrusions in place of meaningful consideration of the privacy concerns of all Americans,” the professors wrote.
The data in question would come from private industry, which mines everything from credit card statements to prescription drug purchase records to target advertising and tweak product lines. Indeed, much of it is detailed financial and health information the government has never had access to in any form. The bill’s proponents said the data would be “anonymized”.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/cisa-cybersecurity-bill-senate-vote
I think we’ll all end up partying like it’s 1984 sooner than anyone could imagine.
Sounds like the Eurocrats really thought this one through….not
The internet was bad enough with a small number of companies buying up everything in site but its rightly f##cked now. This only favours big business. Just a few fig leaves thrown in to make it seem reasonable.
Amazing the admission from MEPs that they voted for full package as they were so keen to get the, voter popular, roaming free charges in place. Incredibly short sighted, as for the comment from KevJ that it would be amazing if “half of them read the bill” – not a hope in hell. From experience the number of those MEP who read the bill would be somewhere in the region of a dozen or so.
Most of the MEPs would have been handed a sheet from their EP political groups. On the sheet is the title of the legislation being voted on then a series of numbers (indicating the amendment) and ‘guidance’ from the parties on whether to Yes, No or Abstain.
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