The husband and father of a drowned mother and baby yesterday spoke of his intense anguish at their loss at their joint requiem Mass in St Martin's Church in Kilworth, Co Cork.
Gareth Owen, whose wife Nollaig and son Tadhg were found dead in the River Araglin near Kilworth last Saturday, said when his wife walked in to his life he found his "sun, moon, my everything". The birth of the couple's son Tadhg last November had made their life complete, he said, but now all he loved in life was gone forever.
"My sense of loss knows no bounds. My whole world lies before me in a wooden box. Family no more. Its place in the universe snuffed out. My grief and pain has no limit. My universe has come to an end - I am all alone. Nollaig and Tadgh sleep tight, I love you so much."
Mr Owen, from South Africa, met his wife when he worked for Bupa in Fermoy, Co Cork.
The funeral Mass for the tragic pair began with a speech by Nollaig Owen's mother Peggy Kenneally who paid tribute to her daughter for the kindness she showed towards her late father Donal.