The two young cousins who drowned after falling through the ice on a lake in Scotstown in Co Monaghan on New Year's Eve were buried together in the same grave this morning.
 |
| Louise McAloon |
The girls' bodies were discovered by Garda divers who found the bodies of Louise McAloon (12) and Veronica McAloon (10) in 10 feet of water on New Year's Day after a 24-hour search.
The girls had disappeared on New Year's Eve after playing on the ice covering Hollywood Lake just 100 yards from Louise McAloon's home.
 |
| Veronica McAloon |
The girls' families decided that as they were close - both as cousins and as friends - they should be buried in the same grave.
More than 100 mourners joined the funeral procession from Louise McAloon's home, yards from the lake where she died, to the nearby parish church in Scotstown.
In his sermon at the local church, St Mary's of Urbleshanny, Fr Martin Traynor spoke about the "two bright and cheerful girls", who had attended the church last Sunday, just hours before they disappeared.
The girls were close friends, he said, adding: "Perhaps, as well as family connections, it was the love of the great outdoors that bound their lives so closely together.
"Both Veronica and Louise loved to go for long walks, spending time together, sharing each other's interests.
"It is a sad irony that it was at Hollywood Lake on a Sunday evening, a place that they both loved and had spent many happy hours together, that it was there to claim their young lives.
He offered his sympathy to Louise's father Owen and two sisters Lena, 16, and Siobhan, 14, and also to Veronica's parents, Martin and Mary, and their other children, Joey, 18, Noleen, 17, Patricia, 15, and Sean, five.
- President Mary McAleese sent a message of condolence to the bereaved families and her representative attended the funerals.
PA