Town lays four to rest in one day of heartache

FOUR funerals — one after the other — for four young men killed in one road accident. But the similarities did little to diminish the emotional impact.

The people of Pisz in north-eastern Poland buried four of their own over the course of what seemed to be the longest day.

Rafal Gorski was the first to be buried, more than a week after he was killed in a car crash, which also claimed the lives of three of his friends, near Cork city.

Their burials duly followed at two-hour intervals, with Andrzej Wojciechowski the second to be laid to rest, Sylwester Szcwyrow, and then Radoslaw Nowak, the youngest of the victims at just 23.

In ceremonies that were harrowing and dignified in equal measure, tearful people filed into the chapel opposite the cemetery and stood shoulder to shoulder.

A male soloist sang hymns as more people gathered outside the church building.

After the service, which featured tributes to the four men from Ballincollig priest Fr John O’Donovan, people trickled out, collecting the wreaths and flowers that had been left underneath the photographic tributes to the four men.

With the ringing of a bell, pall-bearers four times brought out the coffins and placed them in the back of a van while another official carried a wooden cross each time bearing the name of the dead man.

The soloist moved ahead and begin singing another incantation while behind him, the families, racked with grief, came through the doors onto the parched grass. Then the vans wove through the vast cemetery to the final resting places.

As Rafal’s coffin was taken outside, a picture of the 28-year-old fell from the wreath in which it had been placed. His tearful aunt, Ela, rushed to pick it up and held it close as the cortege made its way to the graveside.

As the first funeral, it drew the largest crowd and everyone gathered around the grave to watch as three square slabs were placed on top. Then the small wooden cross was planted into the ground and flowers placed on top of the grave.

As with all the burials, somebody spoke to thank everyone for attending, in Rafal’s case, his sister Karolina. Her voice cracked with emotion, but she was more composed than her mother Jadwiga who had covered her eyes with her hands as her son’s body was lowered down.

In Andrzej’s case, he was buried next to his father Franciszek, as his mother Krystna and younger brother Norbert wept. Andrzej’s sister lives in America and was unable to attend.

Earlier, Fr O’Donovan told the congregation that it was a “very sad and heartbreaking time” for him and others in Ballincollig, and said he wished his first visit to Poland had occurred in better circumstances.

Throughout the day, the same faces were evident at each funeral service, with members of each family comforting the other.

They have little option but to share the burden of each other’s grief, but it’s a heavy weight to carry.