Turkish bomb victim laid to rest in Co Waterford

Tara Whelan's remains were laid to rest today

Tara Whelan's remains were laid to rest today

Co Waterford teenager Tara Whelan, killed in an explosion in the Turkish resort of Kusadasi on Saturday, was laid to rest today.

The funeral took place near her home village of Kilmeaden, where Ballyduff parish priest Fr Michael O'Byrne led prayers.

St Nicholas's Church, with a capacity of less than 200, was set up with a public address system to accommodate large crowds.

Ballyduff village was closed to traffic for the funeral, with temporary car parks provided on all three approach roads.

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Fr O'Byrne asked the media, especially TV cameras, to keep a "respectful distance". A camera crew was admitted to the church. "But we would hope they won't intrude in any way on the family's grief," he said.

The final results of a postmortem carried out on Ms Whelan's remains when they arrived back to Ireland are not expected for several weeks.

Ms Whelan died along with four other people when a bomb exploded on a minibus in the Turkish coastal resort. She was on holidays after completing her Leaving Certificate.