A removal service for the three members of a Cork family who drowned in a tributary of the River Blackwater over the bank holiday weekend has taken place this evening.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Charleville to pay their respects to the remains of Ita Noonan (49) and her son, David (24) and daughter, Emma (20) who lost their lives in the Awbeg River at Castletownroche.
During the service, Parish Priest Fr Muiris O'Connor said that he had spoken to Mrs Noonan's husband David and the extended Noonan family over the past few days and they were understandably still in shock at the terrible tragedy.
"It is almost impossible for anyone to imagine the anguish and pain that they are going through at the moment," he said.
David and Emma's remains will be laid to rest in the local cemetery following the requiem mass at St Andrew's Church in Kilfinane tomorrow while Mrs Noonan's remains will be brought to Newlands Cross Crematorium in Dublin for cremation on Friday.
It is believed that Emma Noonan went swimming on Sunday afternoon and got into difficulty, and that her mother and brother jumped in to rescue her.