'Words are inadequate:' Mother and son who died in Creeslough tragedy are laid to rest

Catherine O’Donnell, (39) of Race Course, Kilmacrennan and formerly of Drimnaraw, Creeslough and her 13-year-old son, James Monaghan, were laid to rest following Requiem Mass in St Michael’s Church, Creeslough on Wednesday afternoon.

Chief celebrant, Father John Joe Duffy, welcomed all those in attendance, which included Irish President Michael D Higgins, Bishop of Raphoe Alan McGuckian, Oireachtas members, Minister Charlie McConalogue, representatives of the emergency services and medical teams and volunteers.

He thanked, in particular, the staff of Letterkenny University Hospital mortuary, who ‘worked non-stop through the night’ to ensure families had their loved ones returned to them, as well as the staff of the local pharmacy, who provided support. Father Duffy also expressed ‘sincere thanks’ to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and said they and other services were ‘a wonderful example of cooperation that exists on our island.’ He also welcomed the principal and pupils of Mulroy College, including James’ classmates.

Expressing the sympathies of all to the chief mourners, who included Catherine’s daughter Sinead, mother Margaret, partner Charlie Flood and siblings, James’ father Chris Monaghan, grandparents and extended families, Fr Duffy said they were all held ‘very much in our hearts.’ Special prayers were said for Catherine’s baby daughter, Paige, who predeceased her, her late father, Edward (Ned) and James’ grandfather.

Fr Duffy said we ‘turn to God and ask us to give us hope for this terrible sadness we are experiencing, for a mother and son, who are side-by-side, who were always side-by-side and who will always be side-by-side, hand-in-hand with Paige and the grandfathers, who have gone ahead of them’.

Fr Duffy appealed to anyone affected by the tragedy to make use of the support services that are available, and for the parents and students to make use of those services within Mulroy College.

He added how, ‘sometimes words fail us, they certainly fail us at this time,’

"Words are inadequate to express the feelings of any one of us here. The feelings of our communities, as we gather here in St Michael’s Church. Words do not come to us in how we should offer sympathy. Not that sympathy can take away your pain; words fail us in how to offer support. There are no words of support we can offer you in our desire to care for you. We are doing what we know best – that is, we are standing with you, we are walking with you. We are praying for you.”

Fr Duffy told those gathered how, ‘if we think of a plane that is slowly taxiiing down a runway about to take off – that was James’.

"He was just a child, taxiing down the runway, about to take off into his teenage years.’

He had, mourners heard, recently gone to his first disco. The gift that was presented to symbolise James were ‘wrestling items,’ which he so loved.

"No wonder words fail us this afternoon. But the strength of community support here, in Racecourse, Kilmacrennan, in Creeslough, in extended family in Scotland has been a great comfort. Those visible goods deeds we have all seen since Friday give us hope, lift us up and break into that terrible grief, to give somewhat of a little consolation and to be surrounded by the love of family and this community and communities.”

Fr Duffy noted how, ‘one thing that struck so many’ people over last Friday and Saturday were ‘not the clatter of words being spoken at the scene,’ but the silence, as people gathered to support each other.

He added how, sometimes words aren’t needed and that Creeslough, ‘maybe out of this suffering and pain, has given a gift to the rest of the world’.

"A new understanding of what it means to be community. The strength of our people in tragedy has set a template for the world how, even amidst the greatest pain and grief, we are strongest when we rely on each other and support each other. And community spirit and prayer will conquer even the darkest and most difficult hours.”

Addressing James’ classmates, Fr Duffy described him as someone ‘full of ‘devilment.’ full of life and full of joy’ and told them how the late teenager would ‘want that joy, that life in you, to always do well in life, always work hard’.

Catherine, he said, was ‘bubbly, she was full of life, she was very intelligent’.

Mourners heard how she loved parties and was a ‘shopaholic’ who recently stayed up for hours online to get Garth Brooks tickets. She was a ‘glamourous lady’ and the gift symbolising her was a watch and necklace.

"She reckoned she was the only sensible one in her family, among her siblings, as she was born in Ireland.”

Many of Catherine’s family have travelled from Scotland in recent days.

Catherine, said Father Duffy, was a ‘loving mother, partner and loving daughter and much, much loved’.

"We give thanks to God for that love today. We give thanks to God for the gift Catherine was to her family.”

James, Fr Duffy continued, was ‘unforgettable.’

He had an ‘endearing innocence’ and was ‘full of life, full of vitality.’

"He brought a smile to everyone’s face.’

"There was something so lovable about James.”

Fr Duffy told how James was a ‘beautiful child, with a beautiful heart and beautiful soul, as had his mum’.

Catherine and James were later laid to rest in Doe Cemetery.