The two teenage boys who drowned in Derry were a “huge gift” to those in their lives, mourners at their funeral Mass have heard.
Reuven Simon and Joseph Sebastian, both aged 16, died after getting into difficulty at Enagh Lough on Monday evening.
At a joint service on Friday, the boys’ open coffins were placed side by side at St Mary’s Church in Ardmore. They were dressed in their new school uniforms.
Described as “inseparable”, the pair were best friends and “did everything together”. Their photographs sat at the front of the altar. Pupils from St Columb’s College in the city, which the boys attended, formed a Guard of Honour outside the church.
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The two “intelligent and hardworking” teenagers were due to start their new school year today, having excelled in their GCSE exams.
Hundreds attended the service, which was conducted according to the rites of the Syro-Malabar Church. A huge screen were erected outside to stream the funeral.
The Reverend Father Clement Padathiparambil, head of the church in Ireland and the chief celebrant of the funeral Mass, told the congregation that Reuven and Joseph, who were from Derry’s Indian Keralan community, were “special in so many ways”.
Tributes were also led by four of the boys’ closet friends, who spoke of their “kindness and compassion”, and humour that “lit up a room”.
The friends pledged “to be there” for the boys’ families, taking their siblings “under their wing”.
Waterside parish priest Fr Michael Canny said the tragedy had a “deep impact” on the community.
“We all feel bewildered by the sense of loss and the intensity of grief that we have experienced over these last few days,” he added.
“In the eyes of this world you, their families and this community, have lost two young boys at a beautiful time in their lives when they were filled with hopes and dreams.”
Joseph, referred to as “Joppu” by his family, was born in Kerala in southern India and brought to Ireland when he was three months old by his parents as they embarked on a new life. Ruevan was born in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. The pair shared a passion for football and cricket.
“Both boys flourished in their education, their gentle kind natures won them much affection among staff and pupils alike,” Fr Canny added.
Speaking on behalf of the Sebastian family, Abraham Sebastian said Joseph was a “wonderful and sweet child” who had grown into a young man with “so many plans for the future”.
He told mourners of the “unimaginable suffering” for both families and the “huge emptiness” in their lives at the loss and for “what could have been”.
Reuven’s cousin, Juliet, told the service he was among the sweetest and kindest people she had ever known.
He was someone who “spread positivity”.
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan, who has worked closely with the Kerala community, was asked by the grieving families to speak.
He knew the boys and said he would remember them as “beautiful and vibrant young men”.
“Their friendship was an example to all… everywhere they went they brought joy and love,” he said.
Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown also paid tribute. “We can see from the large numbers who came to the wake over the last days, that the events of the last few days have been traumatic for many people in this city and community. These were two great students – intelligent, hardworking and very responsible.
“These two boys were a huge gift to all of us in their life.”
