Dwayne ‘lived most of his life in fast lane’

EMOTIONS ran high during Dwayne Foster’s funeral mass at Oliver Plunkett Church in Finglas, Dublin, yesterday.

Daily Lenten mass-goers who filled the back seats of the small church looked on as the family of the main suspect for the murder of young mother Donna Cleary struggled to contain their feelings.

Foster, a 24-year-old father of three, died from natural causes while being held in custody in a cell at Coolock garda station.

At one stage, however, it all became too much for the young man's father, Edward, who couldn't contain an angry outburst.

Funeral celebrant, Fr Declan Brennan, was eventually forced to order him to resume his seat and show respect for his dead son.

Earlier, Dwayne Foster's remains were carried into the church while Survivor's Eye of the Tiger was played over the loudspeaker.

When the coffin was placed in front of the altar a framed photograph of a motorbike was put among the lighted candles, crucifix and Bible.

And as his mother Margaret blessed the coffin, Fr Brennan pointed out that in many ways her son was a blessing to her.

"Now she returns that blessing," he said.

During his homily the priest spoke of how Dwayne, one of 10 children, had lived most of his life in the fast lane.

"The closest he ever came to being an angel was when he was four-years-old and he had, in the words of his sisters, beautiful, long hair that he had no right to possess. That was all cropped from the day he was sent to school."

Fr Brennan also spoke of his passion for motorbikes and how he used to race in Mondello Park in Co Kildare.

"The faster he went, the more he liked it," he said.

The congregation heard that at 17 he was diagnosed with throat cancer and following his recovery gave generously to both children's charities and the Conquer Cancer Society.

And, he said, while there was much talk about victim impact, people needed to be reminded that his parents, brothers, sisters, partner and children were also victims.

Members of the Finglas community were also touched and impacted by what had happened but, again, he asked, who cared.

"We are living in a society where its youth are disaffected, undisciplined and fearless. They think they can solve many of their problems with guns and drugs," he said.

And while the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, was trying to convince people that the crime rate was down, the reality seemed to be that no one cared anyway.

Religion was all but dead in the country, Fr Brennan said, there were no role models in the Government for young people to follow and the police were poorly trained.

"This is the society that produced Dwayne. Dwayne too is a victim," he said.

But, he said, all was not lost, however, because people still believed in God wherever they found Him and people had hope.

"There are so many things that need to be changed in our society by those who lead it but we also need to go back to God," he said.

At the end of the service, a final song was played over the loudspeaker Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven as the mourners left to bury their son, brother, partner, father and friend in Dardistown cemetery.