Mourners say goodbye to tragic school girl

THE altar gifts, at the funeral Mass, symbolised the life and talents of tragic 16-year-old Ciara Gibbs.

A maths book, a music book and a chair made for a Junior Cert art project were used by family and friends to represent her abilities and potential, which will now remain unfulfilled.

The gifts were brought to the altar of the St John the Baptist Church in Kilcash, near Ballypatrick in Co Tipperary, during the offertory ceremony.

The church is in the parish where many of the late teenager’s family members still live.

She was found dead on Sunday week in her home at Killure, Goresbridge in Co Kilkenny by her father Gerard and 14-year-old brother Gearoid.

Her mother, Lynn, was discovered in a seriously ill condition and currently remains in a Dublin hospital.

Mr Gibbs and his son had just returned from a visit to Ballypatrick in Co Tipperary, where they were visiting relatives.

Classmates, and other pupils, from Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny formed a guard of honour on Saturday night as the remains were brought to the church in Kilcash, on the slopes of Slievenamon, where Ciara’s father brings her grandmother to Mass every Sunday.

Her grandparents are well-known in the area and ran a local pub for years. Ciara’s mother, psychiatrist Dr Gibbs – formerly Lynn Hutchinson – is also from the district.

The crowd attending yesterday’s funeral mass spilled outside from the packed church in Kilcash, as the school choir from the Loreto Convent sang the hymns and where chaplain Fr Roderick Whearty spoke about their friend.

He recalled a ceremony held recently in the convent’s oratory when pupils remembered those who have passed on and Ciara had been one of the readers.

Little did they realise, said Fr Whearty, that they would soon be coming together to say goodbye to another school friend.

He said Ciara was known as a “quiet and gentle” girl, as a good friend, and as somebody who was dedicated to her school work. She had a particular talent for maths.

“Our hearts are heavy,” said Fr Whearty, “full of sadness and a real sense of loss at the passing of a young girl at the threshold of life. Words can’t really express the depth of sadness felt by so many people here today who knew Ciara and loved her and who miss her deeply.”

While the right words couldn’t be found, said the priest, all that anyone could do was gather in support of those closest to Ciara.

“We gather to support her family, Gerard and Lynn and Gearoid, and the rest of the family. Ciara was a daughter and sister and granddaughter and friend.

“We come here today to, in some way, honour her and thank her and give thanks to God for the gift of her life and for her love and friendship and companionship, for who she was and all that she gave during her all-too-short life.”

A friend of the Gibbs family made a plea for the mourners’ privacy to be respected during this difficult time. Speaking before the end of the funeral mass, the family friend said that they weren’t public figures, didn’t want to be in the media and hoped that Gerard, Lynn and Gearoid wouldn’t become the subject of speculation and inaccuracy in the coming weeks, months and years.

He also thanked everyone who had supported the family and offered their help over the last week.

Afterwards, Ciara’s body was laid to rest in the cemetery adjoining the church in Kilcash, as her father tried to comfort 14-year-old Gearoid, surrounded by relatives and friends.