Harry Byrne’s St Kieran’s College classmates will be attending his funeral in Gowran later.
The popular 13-year-old died after a tragic accident while out playing during lunchtime at school last Monday.
The educational facility remains open today with other classes watching the live stream of the service.
A large number of people turned up last night to pay their respects to the teenager’s family at his home.
Local priest Fr Dalton says he’s expecting more of the same at this morning’s funeral (details here) and he’s reminding people to remember to wear masks and observe the Covid-19 advice; “We can only allow in so many of them, we can’t let them all in, but I think his class is coming and we’ve a place reserved for his class and some from other schools so we have a section of the church for his age group and the rest will be mourners and other people, thank God the restrictions are lifted and we have leeway to let in people they just have to be careful themselves and try have some bit of distance between one another but there isn’t any restrictions as such now but we ask that they take care of themselves”.
He adds that it’s hard to find something of comfort to say in the face of such a sudden and tragic death; “Words seem to be hollow at this stage and you talk about Baptism and the promise of Resurrection and all that’s planned and it does help to consol but here and now it doesn’t change the fact that the body is lifeless there but it does in the long runclick in that there is another side of life and the beyond life that we hope to go into”.
You can view the Mass here