Lisa Thompson’s funeral Mass told ‘why are we hearing of so many violent deaths?’

Human life is precious thing and society needs to question why so many people are dying violently, the funeral Mass of Lisa Thompson, who was found stabbed to death in Dublin earlier this month, has heard.

The mother-of-two is believed to have been dead for up to two days before being discovered at her home in Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun on May 10th.

Ms Thompson’s family, friends and members of the community gathered for her funeral Mass at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Ballymun on Monday. During the ceremony, an iPod was placed at the alter as a symbol of her love for music, alongside a family picture of the 52-year-old and her two children.

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The funeral of Lisa Thompson, mother of two found murdered in her home in Ballymun, Dublin, at Church of the Holy Spirit, Ballymun. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

"The photo reminds us of Lisa's great love for her children Kyle and Brook," said Fr Declan Blake. "I know the last few weeks have been so difficult for you; it was just a very, very difficult time. But you showed your inner strength, how strong the two of you are.

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“Your ma will always be with you, she’ll be watching down on you and she’ll always be very, very close to you.”

The community was shocked by Ms Thompson’s killing, a sentiment reflected by Fr Blake, who said the nature of her death should prompt questions.

“We should not be here today because Lisa’s tragic and violent death shocked her family and also too the wider community,” he said.

“As we all know, human life is precious, human life is sacred and the taking of any human life is very, very wrong.

Ask ourselves

“And we as a society have to stop and ask ourselves: why are we hearing of so many violent deaths?”

Ms Thompson grew up in Ballymun where she went to St Joseph's Primary School and later the Comprehensive. She worked as an administrator in local youth services.

The congregation heard her described as a friendly, caring person who had dreams for her future and who had aspired to be a legal secretary - a profession that would encapsulate her values of fairness and justice.

“Lisa at a very young age was planning to get married to her fiancé Michael but he died from illness just a few months before and Lisa never got over that either,” Fr Blake said.

Ms Thompson is also survived by her mother Bernadette, and siblings Ashley and Stefan, the father of her children Thomas, and wider family.

Black market

Gardaí investigating Ms Thompson’s death believe she was pressured into storing controlled drugs and suspect that she was murdered by a person involved in the trade.

Ms Thompson was not a drug addict but suffered some substance abuse issues in the later part of her life. Gardaí believe this brought her into contact with people selling prescription medication on the black market, who had at times put pressure on her to store the drugs for them.

This is a main line of inquiry in the murder investigation, which detectives believe has now made significant progress.

Ms Thompson’s phone was found at the house where she was killed and is understood to have helped gardaí to track her last movements and identify those she was in contact with just before her murder.