THE CHURCH of St Thomas the Apostle in Jobstown, Dublin, was packed beyond capacity last night as hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects to Patrick Ryan Corr, the teenager who died last weekend after being struck by lightning.
Paddy (14) was walking to a friend's house in Tallaght early on Saturday evening when he received a direct lightning strike to the head and suffered fatal injuries.
He died in Tallaght hospital early on Sunday morning, having never regained consciousness.
A large congregation from the Tallaght locality gathered at the church last night for his removal and a short service celebrated by Fr Val Martin, Fr Martin Hannon and Bishop Eamonn Walsh.
Extra seating was brought into the church to facilitate the large crowd in attendance, however, scores of people were unable to enter the church and listened to the service in the adjoining car park through a tannoy.
Fr Martin offered his sympathy to Paddy's parents, Ann and Gerry, and his siblings Sarah (24), Gary (19) and Ann Marie (18).
"Sudden death is terrible for a family but the circumstances of Paddy's death have made this not only a tragedy but a talking point for the entire country," Fr Martin said.
"The crowd gathered here today is not only an indication of the great affection people had for Paddy, but also for his entire family."
Dozens of floral tributes adorned the altar of the church, the largest of which read "brother".
The congregation heard that Paddy, an aspiring mechanic, had a great love of the outdoors, motorbikes and snooker. He had recently started in the CityWise education centre and was due to sit his Junior Certificate next year.
"Our church's understanding of death is that it is a separation of soul and body. Paddy was baptised and became a member of God's family and heaven is his now by right," Fr Martin said.
A Requiem funeral Mass takes place at St Thomas's Church this morning at 11am.
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