The funeral of Meg Walsh, the 35-year-old mother of one whose badly beaten body was recovered from the River Suir last Sunday after a two-week search, took place yesterday in the north Cork village of Killavullen.
In his eulogy, her only sibling James described her as "a gorgeous, sweet, caring woman", who was well able to speak up for herself, but "at this stage, she can't", he said, "so I just hope to do the best I can for her . . . We have been through hell, the worst nightmare imaginable. She was taken from us in the most violent way imaginable. I was sitting down there looking up at that crucifix [ behind the altar] - and the word crucified crossed my mind. This is the gorgeous little girl who grew up with me at the foot of the Nagle Mountains . . ."
The 167-year-old sandstone Church of St Nicholas was full for almost an hour before the funeral service began at noon. Ms Walsh's Tramore-born husband, John O'Brien, and his sisters, Jackie and Theresa, were among the first to arrive shortly after 10am, and sat in the front pew on the right. Ms Walsh's daughter Sasha Keating, her brother James, first husband Coleman Keating, and other family members sat on the left, directly behind the coffin, which carried a spray of lilies and a photograph of a smiling Meg Walsh.
There was a visible Garda presence, including Supt Dave Sheahan, who has become the public face of the investigation, and Insp Pádraig Dunne, the Garda family liaison officer.
By the time local priest and family friend Fr Dan McCarthy began the concelebrated funeral Mass, there was standing room only, with some mourners left outside. Fr McCarthy spoke of Ms Walsh's sense of fun and love of travel and said that while a death in any circumstances is an occasion of sorrow, "death in such horrific circumstances as these is too much for our understanding. Meg was so young and so full of life. Her work in this world was far from finished. She was in the prime of her life, healthy, with so much to do and so much to give to people - and now she's gone".
Her brother James recalled that, for some reason, she idolised him, "and those feelings were more than mutual. One of the rare things about her was that she had this ability to listen. She never talked for the sake of talk. That was her real strong point as far I was concerned. She was actually my rock and for me it was a case of 'unload all your problems on me'. The thing about it was, unfortunately, she said she didn't want to burden anyone with her problems."
He remembered their childhood home, which was "littered" with photographs of the two of them. "When I think of those photographs, I get this real hollow feeling and I can't explain it." He spoke affectionately of her first husband, Coleman Keating, "a man of integrity and substance", who had spent the last fortnight searching for her. "She moved to Waterford, got married there and seemed to be happy there. But when we were down searching there, it was easy to see why she was so happy there . . . Her workmates, her friends, they're the salt of the earth."
He paid tribute to her employers, the Garda, the Army, the Civil Defence, the Red Cross and all who helped in the search for her body. He mentioned the priests, community centre and neighbours who had completed urgent jobs that had been abandoned in the rush to Waterford.
He finished by saying he was "so, so proud" of his sister, "and the way she lived her life. I'm equally as proud of her daughter, my niece Sasha. All I can say is I hope life will be kind to her."