MICHAELA HARTE, daughter of Tyrone senior football manager Mickey Harte, was buried yesterday in her native Co Tyrone amid large crowds of mourners and an international media presence.
She was murdered last week while on honeymoon in Mauritius with her husband John McAreavey. He led the mourners alongside Mickey Harte and his wife Marian and Michaela’s brothers – Mark and his wife Sinéad, Michael and his wife Josephine, and Matty.
Prayers were offered at the family home in the townland of Glencull by Mr McAreavey’s uncle, the Bishop of Dromore also called John McAreavey.
Mr McAreavey’s parents, Brendan and Tish, also followed the coffin, with their two daughters Claire and Anne and their brother Brian.
The coffin was carried most of the one mile to St Malachy’s Church in Ballymacilroy where the couple were married on December 30th. Mickey Harte, his sons, and John McAreavey were among the last pallbearers to carry the remains before it was transferred to the hearse.
Members of Aireagal Chiaráin, the GAA club in Ballygawley which Mickey Harte used to manage, formed a guard of honour alongside members of the Tyrone senior football panel. Children from St Malachy’s primary school, Glencull, lined the road outside the little rural school which Michaela Harte attended, as the cortege of about 1,000 passed by. On arrival at the church which holds just 350, the guard of honour was provided by members of Mr McAreavey’s GAA club in Tullylish, Co Down where he still plays football.
Among the congregation at the church were President Mary McAleese and her husband, Dr Martin McAleese; the Catholic primate of Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady; senior representatives from the Church of Ireland led by the Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Right Rev Harold Miller; and the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Right Rev Ken Good. The Taoiseach was represented by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Michael Treacy.
Also among the mourners were representatives of the GAA led by president Christy Cooney and Danny Murphy, GAA Ulster secretary. Nigel Hamilton from Ulster Rugby and Jim Shaw representing the Irish Football Association also joined the congregation.
Public representatives included Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness; president of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams with party colleagues Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Martin Ferris, Pat Doherty, and Michelle Gildernew; SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie; her colleagues Dr Alasdair McDonnell and Patsy McGlone; the deputy leader of the Ulster Unionists, John McCallister, along with party candidate Mike Nesbitt. John O’Mahoney TD, represented Fine Gael alongside many Assembly members and local councillors.
Lead celebrant for the Mass was Bishop McAreavey. Also there were Archbishop Dermot Clifford, the patron of the GAA; Msgr Eoin Thynne, head chaplain of the Defence Forces; Fr Michael Seery, the local parish priest; Msgr Aidan Hamill, vicar general of the Diocese of Dromore; Fr Gerard McAleer, parish priest of Donoghmore; Fr Gerald Powell, parish priest of Tullylish; and Fr Peter McAnelly, chaplain of St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon where Michaela Harte taught Irish and religious education.
In his homily, Bishop McAreavey spoke of the close bond between Ms Harte and her parents, particularly her mother, Marian, and between her and her husband. He referred to the presence on the altar of Ms Harte’s Pioneer pin, her fáinne and rosary – signifying her commitment to the Irish language and to her faith.
He recalled her murder in Mauritius last week: “Today we also need to somehow face the darkness of these days. An evil act ended Michaela’s young life last Monday. It robbed John of his beautiful wife; it deprived the Harte family of their precious daughter and sister; it deprived the McAreavey family of the daughter-in-law they looked forward to having; it shattered hopes and dreams for the future.”
After Mass, the bishop offered the final commendation and the coffin was taken from the church to the adjoining cemetery where Michaela Harte was buried near her relatives in a private ceremony.