Murdered mum Meg finally laid to rest

AFTER meeting such a violent end to her short life, murdered mother-of-one Meg Walsh was finally laid to rest yesterday beside the graves of her parents in north Cork last night.

Among the hundreds of mourners who packed into the St Nicholas’ Church in Killavullen for the funeral of the 35-year-old were many of those who spent up to two weeks searching in Waterford for her.

Meg’s brother, James, thanked all of them, singling out many in the gardaí, as well as family friends who tirelessly gave their time.

“I would like to thank everyone who helped, whether they were guards, army, civil defence, right across. There were so many people who helped us look for her. There is no possible way that we could ever repay them for what they are after doing. All I can say is: we certainly won’t forget it anyway.”

He then spoke of his own recollections of his sister.

“She was a gorgeous, sweet, caring woman. That just says volumes for her really. Knowing Meg, the thing about her, she was straight down the line. Black was black, white was white. Wrong was wrong and right was right. There was no half measures.

“One of the rare things about her was that she had this ability to listen. She never talked for the sake of talking. That was her real strong point as far as I was concerned. She was actually my rock and for me it was a case of unload all your problems on Meg. The thing about it then, unfortunately, is that she said she did not want to burden anyone with her problems.”

Mourners gathered early for the noon ceremony — among the first to arrive was John O’Brien, Meg’s husband, who walked into the church at 10am and sat to the right hand side of the church. Meg’s daughter Sasha arrived with her father Colman and sat with James Walsh.

Meg’s coffin was placed to the left of the church. Upon it, beside a bouquet of flowers and a Bible, sat a picture of her.

During his homily, family friend, Father Dan McCarthy said: “Meg was so young and so full of life, her work in this world was far from finished. She was in the prime of her life, healthy, so much to do and so much to give to people. And now she is gone.

“While our lips will, because of habit maybe, pray the words of faith in the funeral Mass, our hearts will cry out in a confused incomprehension and ask why?”

After the service ended the coffin was placed in the hearse where a floral bouquet spelt out the word mum. As it pulled out of the driveway of the church, James Walsh walked immediately behind it hugging Meg’s daughter.

The slow cortege drove to Bweing where she was laid to rest beside her parents in a private ceremony.