“He was a warrior on the field and a gentle soul in life”
The powerful words of Fr. Martin Tobin at the opening the Requiem Mass in St Senans Church in Kilmacow, where hundreds gathered to say their goodbye to former Kilkenny and Kilmacow hurler Luke Harney.
The 33 year old died on in the early hours of Monday morning after collapsing at training on Friday last.
Inside the packed church, family, friends, neighbours, and teammates came together united in heartbreak, and in love.
During the service symbols of Luke life were brought forward including pictures of his family, his hurley and helmet, rayban galsses and oasis hat a liverpool scarf and jerseys of his beloved club Kilmacow and Kilkenny and a Waterford jersey for his time playing soccer for the county.
His Finacée Tash paid an emotional tribute to him saying, “Many people have watched him for the best part of 30 years, dedicating his life to hurling, he simply lived and breathed it. Luke loved to encourage and support the players coming through the club and made it a point to make everyone feel part of the team, both on and off the pitch, demonstrating exactly why he was their captain and a hero to many of both young and old. He took on the role of the leader with great pride.”
“The greatest role and title Luke achieved, nothing will compare to how he felt when he became a dad to our two girls. Holly and Sofia are his absolute pride and joy, from the second they came into this world, there would never be a love like it. He’s raised, cared and nurtured our girls to be the beautiful little women we see today.”
She also had praise for the man who chose her: “Thank you for choosing me, even though our time together wasn’t as long as we hoped for and we won’t have the opportunity to fulfil our life plans, I can honestly assure you my life is so much richer simply for having you in it. You supported me, guided me and pushed me to be the best version of myself. You gave me confidence in myself that I didn’t even know I had.”
She concluded by saying, “My favourite thing in life is being your partner and although we never made it up the aisle, I hope you know you always have and always will have my heart. Thank you for making me the happiest girl in the world and giving me my two favourite titles “Lukes Girl” and “Mammy to our children”.
“If love alone could have saved you, I would have saved you a million times over.”
