Marie Boyle wept uncontrollably as she helped to carry the coffin of her sister, Sasha (28), into the parish church in Rostrevor, Co Down, on Saturday. Her brother, Shane, carried the coffin of his mother, Briege, who perished alongside her husband, Brian, in a tragic fire at the family home in the village on Thursday morning.
Hundreds of mourners from the tightly knit community who could not gain entry to the packed church congregated outside to pay their final respects to the three Boyle family members. The President, Mrs McAleese, a friend of the family, attended the funeral Mass with her husband, Martin, and son, Justin. The Bishop of Dromore, Dr Francis Brooks, greeted Mrs McAleese on her arrival to St Mary's Star of the Sea Church.
The local camogie club, St Bronagh's, of which Sasha had been a valued member, formed a guard of honour at the church. Businesses in the town closed as a mark of respect.
In the hours before the fire, thought to have been caused by a lighted candle in the living room, the house had been filled with laughter. Relatives and friends had gathered to celebrate Marie's 21st birthday. She escaped from the fire through a skylight and was rescued from the roof. Shane had left the party at 2.30 a.m. to return to his home in Camlough, Co Armagh.
Addressing the congregation with a voice strained with emotion, Shane Boyle said the party was "one of the best parties we ever had". He described how family members had become "sentimental" and were hugging and kissing. "I think the man upstairs just had a good plan. Go and enjoy yourselves because I'm taking those three there."
In his homily, the parish priest, Mgr Arthur Bradley, said the community had been "completely stunned" by the tragedy. "These are the occasions in life which pin us to the ground and make us cry out in desperation," he said. He added that the Boyle family had been a "happy family" of whom he had heard "nothing but good".
Prayers were said at the Mass for two fire officers who sustained injuries when tackling the blaze. Ms Anne Kavanagh (41), a family friend who also escaped the fire, was discharged from Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry to attend the funeral. She suffered severe smoke inhalation.
Sasha Boyle and her parents were buried side by side in a family plot in Kilbroney Cemetery.