‘Despicable act cut short a couple’s dreams’

Mourners at the memorial Mass for murdered Irish woman Jill Meagher were last night told the hopes and dreams she and her husband Tom had for their life in Australia were, “cut short by a despicable act one Friday night that has left us all numb”.

Speaking to a congregation of close to 1,000 people, Jill’s aunt Catherine McKeon-Halpin also said: “To our friends and the people of Drogheda, Australia, and especially Brunswick who marched in their thousands, you gave our families and me the courage to get through these past two weeks. May we offer you our sincere thanks.”

She spoke after the emotional Mass in St Peter’s Church, Drogheda, where Jill was baptised.

We attended (along with other family members) the memorial mass for #JillMeagher. So tragic. There's wasn't even standing room. May she RIPX

— Pekalton (@Pekalton) October 5, 2012

The priest who married her and Tom in 2008, Fr Oliver Devine, gave the homily and told mourners that, “from Melbourne to Drogheda, from Dublin to Perth, from Boyle in Roscommon to Brisbane in Australia, and around the world, all of us have been touched by Jillian Meagher’s tragic passing from us”.

He said: “She has touched the hearts of all of us even if we only knew her for a short time or even if we didn’t know her at all apart from what we have learned from the media.”

He recalled that while working in Brown Thomas in 2003, she had served Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. “She was shocked to realise that Kylie was actually shorter than herself.”

He told mourners that in the poem Jill wrote for Tom for their wedding day she said: “He taught me that listening to ‘Jewel’ just wasn’t cool, tried to convince me that Shakespeare was but a fool, after listening to all this waffle I just knew, so I wrote on the back of a Tesco receipt, I love you.”

Fr Devine said “bad things can happen to good people” and that “this side of the grave we have no rational explanation why”.

In a special message to her family, Cardinal Seán Brady, the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, said: “There are no words which can begin to capture the overwhelming grief and loss which Jill’s family and friends must be feeling at this time.”

Moving farewell to Jill Meagher from drogheda home town.family united in songs and release doves as Edith Piaf had final note #Jillmeagher

— Sandra Murphy (@iamsandramurphy) October 5, 2012

Speaking afterwards, her uncle Michael McKeon said his message to Jill’s friends around the world was, “value your friendships here and now, look to the person beside you and give them a big hug... don’t leave it”.

President Michael D Higgins was represented by his aide-de-camp Colonel Brendan McAndrew and the Taoiseach was represented by his aide-de-camp Commandant Michael Tracey.

Also in attendance was the Australian charge d’affaires John Smith.

* Read more here