Funeral of third Athy crash victim takes place in Carlow

The funeral has taken place of Niamh Doyle, one of four friends to die in a car crash on Tuesday night.

Her funeral on Saturday afternoon at the Church of the Holy Family in Askea was the third and last in Carlow town arising out of Tuesday's tragic incident near Athy.

The fourth funeral, that of Ashling Middleton, was to be held in Naas on Saturday from 2pm.

Ms Doyle (19), Ms Middleton (19), Gemma Nolan (19) and Chermaine Carroll (20) were all killed in a collision on the N78 outside Athy on Tuesday night.

The driver of the Volkswagen Polo, Dayna Kearney (20), was injured in the collision, as were the Polish driver and his passenger in the transit van which collided with the car.

The chief mourners at Ms Doyle’s funeral were her parents Ber and Veronica, her sister Louise, her brother Kevin, boyfriend Shane and niece Rachel.

Ms Doyle’s father told the packed congregation that he woke up on Friday morning and remembered a conversation he had had with daughter.

When asked what quality she admired most, she replied, “kindness” and said the person who taught her most about kindness was her mother Veronica. Mrs Nolan lit a candle at the altar.

Gifts were brought to the altar reflecting Niamh Doyle's life and interests. She was a social work student at Waterford Institute of Technology. A book reflecting her interest in social care was brought to the altar along with a little angel. Her art work and a ticket to the Coronas were also brought to the altar. She was a big fan of the band.

Bright star

Fr Tom Little, presiding at his third funeral in two days, said the crash happened last Tuesday on the Feast of the Three Wise Men. They followed a bright star, but the collision had left the parish "overpowered with the darkness of the death of the four beautiful girls".

He alluded to her interest in social care “realising that it is often through helping people in a caring way that the light of God’s love shines brightly in us.

“It is through her gentleness and encouragement that we remember her most with affection.”

Louise Doyle, Niamh's sister, told the congregation she struggled to find the words to sum up what her sister meant to her and her family. Instead, she quoted lyrics from the Paramore song Misguided Ghost.

“I’m going away for a while. But I’ll be back, don’t try and follow me, Cause I’ll return as soon as possible, See, I’m trying to find my place, But it might not be here where I feel safe, We all learn to make mistakes.”