Funeral of young woman who died after falling from Donegal bus hears of ‘passion’ for GAA

Amanda Kinsella (27), who died following an incident in Donegal when she fell from a bus and was hit by a passing car, was someone who "lit up everyone's spirit everywhere she went," her funeral Mass has heard.

Ms Kinsella, a teacher from Bennekerry, Co Carlow, was home on holidays from Bahrain in the Middle East. She was in Donegal for a friend's wedding.

The incident occurred outside Donegal town last Friday at Ardnawark in Barnesmore Gap. She suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where she died later that evening.

At St. Mary's Church in Bennekerry on Thursday afternoon, Ms Kinsella was remembered by her brother David as "the life and soul of the party".

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“I never imagined I’d be speaking about my beautiful sister Amanda like this. She has left us far too soon,” he said.

David described his sister’s “passion” for GAA from a young age, which allowed her to captain the GAA Freshers team at her college to win an All-Ireland Final, and later to collect “a bedroom filled with medals and trophies” in Bahrain, where she lived.

Ms Kinsella’s brother David said “nothing feared her” and “as long as she was with friends and family she was happy”.

He described her love for travel, and the many places she had visited and lived, including a J1 trip to America, and later, Oman, where she held a teaching job, followed by Bahrain, where she met her partner Brendan Galvin.

“Saying goodbye to her at the airport every time never got easier. But she quickly settled and joined the GAA team and we knew that she was happy,” he said.

“Amanda certainly was the cream of the crop whether it was on or off the field.”

“Amanda would always say one day life will flash before your eyes so make sure it’s worth watching. Yours is worth watching, Amanda,” he said.

Ms Kinsella began her playing career with the Palatine GAA Club in Co Carlow as an underage player. The club described her as a “beautiful person with the most radiant personality” who “lit up any room she entered”.

The Arabian Celts GAA club said she was a “fantastic person – on and off the field, kind, funny and full of fun and adventure. She will be sadly missed by all in Bahrain who were lucky enough to know her.”

Gifts brought to the altar in the church included a GAA jersey and a globe - a sign of Ms Kinsella’s “desire to cover so many countries on her travels”. Her partner, Brendan Galvin, brought a photo of them together.

The Mass was also attended by her parents, Michael and Patricia, her sister Aisling and other family and friends.

Over 1,000 people watched the live stream of the Mass online.