THE ROAD safety advocate Betty Cawley was described at her funeral mass in north Dublin yesterday as a woman who had endured suffering in a "very brave and a very heroic way" over the past four years.
Ms Cawley (52) from Corduff, near Blanchardstown, was seriously injured in a crash four years ago which claimed the life of her daughter Errin.
After the crash, which happened when a car travelling in the opposite direction on the M50 crossed the grass division between the lanes and hit their vehicle, Ms Cawley became the voice of a Road Safety Authority advertising campaign.
Fr Joe McLoughlin, curate at St Patrick's Church in Corduff, told mourners that even the nurses treating her at the Mater hospital were amazed at her fighting spirit.
"But in the end I suppose a human person can only take so much suffering and we know that Betty's suffering ended on Saturday morning last," he said.
Her health deteriorated recently as a result of injuries she sustained in the crash.
Fr McLoughlin said Ms Cawley was a party animal who loved being involved in local shows and she was someone who loved to have friends calling to her house for a chat. She was a great listener, he said.
"I'm sure herself and Errin are looking down on us today . . . and they're having a great old chinwag," he added.
Fr McLoughlin pointed out that she wouldn't have wanted him to be morbid at her funeral, but would have wanted it to be a celebration of her life.
Some of Ms Cawley's favourite songs, including A Woman's Heartand The Wind Beneath my Wings, were played at the Mass. Among the gifts taken to the altar during the offertory procession was a picture of Errin.
Ms Cawley's work as a road safety campaigner was reflected in the attendance at her funeral.
Among those paying their respects were Brian Farrell, communications manager of the Road Safety Authority and Garda Declan Egan of the Traffic Corps.
At the end of Mass tributes were paid by her daughter Lindsey and her brother Martin.
Martin described Ms Cawley as an amazingly strong woman who spoke out despite her injuries after she lost Errin.
The chief mourners included Ms Cawley's two surviving children, Lindsey and Evan, their father Larry, and her mother Liz.
After the Mass she was laid to rest beside her daughter in Mulhuddart Cemetery.