'Wonderful' Caitlin Strain 'lit up the hearts of so many people,' funeral is told

The nine-year-old, who passed away on Saturday, was laid to rest in Fahan following Requiem Mass in St Aengus Church in Burt, on Tuesday morning.

‘Precious’ Caitlin was diagnosed with a brain tumour in February, 2021, three days before her eighth birthday and underwent surgeries, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

A number of fundraisers were launched right across the North West to help support Caitlin and her family during this time, most recently to fund treatment in America.

Her passing has devastated the local community and people right across the world, who had united in support and prayer for her and her family, including her parents Thomas and Eimear and siblings Maria, Danielle, Laura and Michael.

Caitlin’s school friends from St. Aengus NS in Bridgend honoured her and beautifully sang songs at the funeral, during which poignant symbols of Caitlin’s life were carried to the altar.

These included a fiddle, to represent her love of music; ‘Sparkles,’ her favourite toy; a family photograph; a picture of Our Lady, who Caitlin prayed to and her mobile phone, with which she kept in contact with many people.

Chief Celebrant, Father Declan Gibson, who is Caitlin’s uncle, said his niece’s journey with sickness began not that long ago and her diagnosis ‘set a very big change’ in the life of her family. He told how there was ‘real hope’ with the treatment in America, but Caitlin’s health sadly took a turn for the worst and she passed away.

Fr Gibson said that, when Caitlin was ill, people across Ireland prayed for her, as well as across America, Australia, England, France and ‘many other countries’.

"Many people learned of the gift of Caitlin,” he added.

Fr Gibson described Caitlin as a ‘wonderful’ girl, who was always welcoming -offering you a cup of tea or coffee when you went into her house – and displayed joy and encouragement.

"I saw her light up the hearts of so many people and bring the best out of so many people, of all ages.”

Mourners heard how Caitlin was always so loyal to her friends and that she always ‘had a way of looking at the brighter side’.

"Caitlin’s gaze was always fixed towards the light and she would often encourage others not to worry - that everything would be alright.”

Caitlin, he added, had a ‘beautiful disposition’ and was ‘never complaining’. She looked forward to his Masses and Fr Gibson said he was always ‘amazed’ at the ‘serenity’ on Caitlin’s face after she received Holy Communion.

"Caitlin, in her short life, has brought much love into people’s hearts, in so many countries and she has also brought so much love out of people’s hearts. She was a wonderful gift. I’ll never forget her smile and I think, the words that always meant to the most to me, were from that little gift of her phone: ‘I miss you and I love you’. She was a very tender-hearted child and had so many beautiful graces and lived such a full life.”

Fr Gibson added how it was ‘remarkable’ that someone just nine-years-old could touch hearts all over the world. He said that while mourners gathered in grief, they also did so to celebrate a ‘beautiful life, so beautifully lived’.

Caitlin’s uncle, Fabian Gibson, delivered a moving Eulogy to his niece, who he called ‘honey bee.’

In a poem, he told how there are ‘no words that can ease the pain of saying goodbye to one so young’.

Mr Gibson said that, in Caitlin, ‘we were blessed with an angel, sent to us from above, a most precious girl, who brightened up our lives, filling our hearts with love’.

Caitlin’s battles, he said, were ‘many and varied for a soul with such tender years, yet every obstacle was faced with smile, and never a hint of fear’.

Caitlin, mourners heard, was an ‘inspiration’ and a ‘radiant star on our darkest nights’.

“Her courage and bravery knew no bounds. She was a hero to her sisters and brother and how blessed were both her parents, to be able to say they were her father and mother.”

"Taken before your time, Caitlin, you now reside with the angels above. We know you’ll always be with us though, sustaining our hearts with your love.”

Mr Gibson said Caitlin would always stay in their hearts, that she will be loved forever and ‘forever has no end.’

Father Francis Bradley, who concelebrated the Mass with Fr Gibson, Fr Crilly, Fr Kemmy and Fr Baker, said that, if love could have kept Caitlin alive and ‘if sacrifice and devotion on the part of her family and so many others throughout the country could have done it, Caitlin would still be alive among us today’

"I couldn’t help but think, as I listened to the Gospel, that as wonderful as the house God prepares for us in heaven is, the house Caitlin enjoyed in Drumadooey, that she in her own way built and contributed to, will give Heaven a race for its money if it’s to be outdone in love and tenderness and grace.

He told Caitlin’s family how she has not gone too far from them.

"Heaven is never too far from where you found joy, peace and contentment on earth and that was certainly true in her home, in her classroom and where-ever she went.”