‘Wonderful, shining light’ laid to rest

Family and friends of Deirdre Lynch made her funeral Mass into a heartwarming celebration of a girl described as “a wonderful, shining light”.

While chief celebrant Fr Noel Kehoe acknowledged that there were “no words to make sense of such a young death”, he, her parents, sister Kate, and the small army of friends present in Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballinlough yesterday, spoke with genuine warmth and laughter about Deirdre’s popularity, sense of humour, exuberance, and her constant concern for others.

A second-year arts student at University College Cork, Deirdre was working at Eco Restaurant in Douglas when she collapsed on Saturday. Paramedics rushed to the restaurant but she never regained consciousness.