THOUSANDS of mourners, many of them members of the GAA, attended the funeral in Dromore, Co Tyrone, yesterday of footballer Paul McGirr, who died during a game on Sunday.
The 18 year old student was buried amid scenes of grief, just three days after he had played in Healy Park in nearby Omagh. He died following a freak collision with an opposing player, as he scored the winning goal in Sunday's Ulster minor championship game.
The parish priest of St Davog's church, Father Tom Breen, had words of comfort for Armagh goalkeeper Mr Willie McSorley, who was involved in the collision in which Mr McGirr suffered severe liver damage.
"This young man was taken away from this life by a freak accident that could never have been foreseen or prevented, something we could never have allowed for," he said.