Harte: I am detached from court proceedings
Mickey Harte, whose only daughter was murdered while on honeymoon last January, made his comments in Limerick last night where he was invited to speak at a prayer service in Moyross as part of the novena celebrations.
The Tyrone football manager addressed hundreds of people at Corpus Christi Church where prayers were said to mark the passing of loved ones, in particular young people, and to acknowledge grief and loss.
When asked beforehand about the ongoing pre-trial proceedings in Mauritius, Mr Harte said he was keeping his focus on what was going at home.
“I’m detached from that. To me, that is another issue that is happening somewhere else. We are dealing with the issues, right with us at home in our own family. That will focus all our attention and we wouldn’t be distracted by anything like that.”
“If we want to be distracted we will do it through sport, we will do it through our own good friends and family. Those are the people that bring us through the times that are tough and that is enough to be focussed on at the minute. I am not particularly involved in any of that.”
Mr Harte said he was not following any media coverage of the pre-trial proceedings.
“Not unless it hits me in the face. I am not looking for it,” he added.
He said his son-in-law John McAreavey was coping “admirably” with his tragic loss.
“He’s devastated as you would expect he would be. He’s a really good lad and we are privileged to have him as our son-in-law. He’s a really, really nice young man. I said on Michaela’s wedding day that she picked well, and I’ve said since that I’m beginning to realise every day since that she picked even better than I thought. He’s just a gem of a man.”
“He’s just a lovely, lovely lad. You couldn’t not enjoy being with him because he’s a very, very solid young man and to think of what he has had to deal with and cope with and to show such strength is encouraging for the likes of me as well. This is not to mix up the fact that he is not devastated, of course he is, that he is not heartbroken, of course he is but there’s a great inner strength in him that I admire and obviously Michaela saw that in him too.”
Mr Harte said he wouldn’t speak about his son-in-law’s view of the proceedings in Mauritius.
“I couldn’t really speak for him. I don’t think it would be right to speak for him. I’d let him answer that for himself.
“God and Michaela will give us the strength to cope with the difficult times and it is probably when the times are difficult that they are more close to us and I believe that. That belief gives me solace and strength and the ability to know that it is a day at a time. That is the only way we can live our life now and I suppose that is a blessing to be able to do that.”
