‘Their love for each other was eternal’
The brave 10-year-old has now assumed her deceased sister’s role as ‘mother hen’, particularly towards their 10-month-old brother, Nathan, who has three new teeth.
Thirteen-year-old Natalie doted over her younger siblings as well as her mum, Oonagh and step-father, Pat. She has left this life to enjoy eternal life, said Fr John McGrath.
The priest searched for words to console the thousand or so mourners who packed the parish church in Mullinahone for the girl’s funeral.
Natalie and her best pal, Michael Brennan, also 13, died on Monday evening when a car driven by their neighbour, Kevin Keating, careered off the road, close to their home, ending up in a ditch.
Today, the close-knit community will again rally together and summon the courage for Michael Brennan’s funeral Mass.
The Brennans, who yesterday consoled the Horans and Quinns, will today sit, at noon, in the front pews.
Fr McGrath, who was called to the accident scene on Monday, accompanied the children’s remains to the morgue.
He said it was heartbreaking that inseparable friends could die together in such a way.
“As we saw them with our human eyes, we were frightened. But, perhaps, we did not understand that their love for each other was eternal. And together they have moved on.”
“Natalie had achieved much more than others of 13 years ... academically and in sport,” Fr McGrath continued, “She wrote in her Confirmation manual that the greatest day of her life was when her baby brother, Nathan, was born.”
“She was so proud here in this sanctuary, weeks later, to be his godmother. She looked forward with spirit in her loving heart to fulfilling that role.”
Natalie’s mum, Oonagh, summed her daughter up best when she said Natalie was a loveable, dependable girl - a little mother hen blessed with a vivacious personality.
At a recent parent teacher meeting in Scoil Ruane, Oonagh was told that Natalie was ‘a little lady’ and ‘a rare child’.
There were prayers yesterday too for the inconsolable Kevin Keating, described as one of the most careful drivers ever.
Among the gifts offered at the funeral were Natalie’s guitar and some of the sheet music she played.
There were few dry eyes in the packed church when Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Comes was played.
Among the floral tributes was one from the Brennan family with the simple message, ‘Friends Forever’.
Anna Scott, who was also a passenger in the car, is now home from hospital, while 14-year-old Taylor Duffy is recovering well at the Intensive Care Unit of Cashel hospital.
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