Mourners and family leave St Joseph's Church in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, following the funeral of 23-year-old Chloe McGee (Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)
THE FUNERALS have taken place of four of the five young people who tragically died in a collision in Co. Louth last week.
Chloe McGee, Alan McCluskey and Dillon Commins, all 23, and 21-year-olds Shay Duffy and Chloe Hipson died after the Volkswagen Golf they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a Toyota Landcruiser.
Three other people were injured in the incident, which occurred shortly after 9pm on Saturday, November 15, on the Ardee Road in the townland of Gibstown, Dundalk.
The funerals of Mr McCluskey and Mr Commins took place on Friday.
Speaking at Mr McCluskey's funeral at St Peter and Paul's Church in Drumconrath, Co. Meath, Father Finian Connaughton summed up the shock felt in the community at the young man's passing.
"Sudden and unexpected death does terrible things to us," he said.
"Even as we carry out the funeral rituals, there is still an air of disbelief; incomprehension that this is happening to someone who sat in these benches two Sundays ago, someone we saw driving his van up the street only a few days ago."
Mr Commins' funeral took place later on Friday at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady in Ardee, Co. Louth.
Bishop Michael Router echoed Fr Connaughton's words, saying: "The sudden and heartbreaking loss of Dylan, together with Chloe McGee, Chloe Hipson, Alan McCluskey and Shay Duffy, has left communities across this region, and indeed across the whole country, shocked and grieving."
He added: "None of us can easily comprehend the scale of what has happened.
"All we can do is hold Dylan and each of his young friends in the embrace of our prayers and commend them to the eternal mercy of God."
Ms McGee and Mr Duffy were laid to rest on Saturday.
At St Joseph's Church in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Aaron McGee paid an emotional tribute to his sister.
"You left echoes in places you never meant to, empty chairs, unfinished plans, hands that still reach for you without thinking," he said.
"But you also left a light in the laughter you gave so easily, in the way you made others feel seen, in the warmth that has outlived the moment you were taken."
Shortly after Ms McGee's funeral, Mr Duffy was laid to rest just a few miles away at St Patrick's Church in Rockchapel.
"At the young age of 21, Shay has lived a full and impactful life," Father Ben Hughes told mourners.
He added: "Shay, as a child of God and of our community, had great character, expressed of course in the symbols today and underneath that in his spirit of goodwill, laughter, kindness and of course helping others, reflecting the values of God.
"As we gather here as a Eucharistic People in relationship, in communion, all of us, we realise how fragile and unpredictable life can be.
"As we navigate the sadness which has accidentally befallen us, we believe Christ as Good Shepherd invites us to go towards sheltering places where, as the Gospel tells us today, we can truly find rest for our souls."
Funeral details have yet to be announced for Ms Hipson, who is from North Lanarkshire in Scotland and was studying at Dundalk Institute of Technology.
A GoFundMe page set up to help her family with funeral expenses and to facilitate her return to Scotland has so far raised more than £31,000.
Created by a member of Bellshill Amateurs, for whom Ms Hipson's brother plays, the appeal said she was 'a young woman ready to live her life taken from her family far too soon'.
"We are looking to help the Hipson family raise funds towards funeral costs and the costs of bringing Chloe home so that they can say their goodbyes properly and give her the loving send-off she deserves," read the appeal.