Catherine was ‘beautiful in beauty’s purest form’

“She was beautiful in beauty’s purest form, a soul filled with goodness,” Catherine Gowing’s sister Emma told mourners at her requiem Mass yesterday.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Kinnitty, Co Offaly, for the funeral of the 37-year-old vet who was murdered in Wales in October. A 46-year-old Welshman has been charged with her murder.

Born in Clareen, Co Offaly, Catherine studied as a vet in Budapest before moving to Wales to work.

Her parents John and Maureen were escorted in to St Flannan’s Church by Catherine’s sister Emma and brother-in-law Shay.

Among the gifts offered at the Mass was a globe, to represent her love of travel; a DVD of the film Into the Wild; and a toy sheep, to show her love for animals.

Emma recalled a sister who was happiest when out walking on the family farm with their pet dog, Bobby. “For those of you who didn’t know her, to me, she was the closest thing to perfection that I had the privilege to know and love as my sister, my friend.

“She was a wonderful daughter to mum and dad, she was their gift from God. She loved animals and being able to practise as a vet was for her, a dream come true.

“She sought out the good in everyone she met and lived her life with love, compassion, fun, adventure, and joy. She was beautiful in beauty’s purist form, a soul filled with goodness.

“Our hearts are broken, we miss her, we love her, but Catherine is in a good place. She never said goodbye. She hated goodbyes, and there is no goodbyes, there is only love.”

Emma said her family was not meant to understand the tragedy which had befallen them. “There is evil in this world, we see it every day, but when it enters our lives directly we realise just how awful it is,” she explained.

However, there is good too, Emma pointed out. “Every act of kindness has reinforced that good that is here with us in abundance and that goodness gives strength, it steadies us and shows us how to face the challenges that life throws at us. That goodness will give us strength in the coming months.”

Kinnitty parish priest Fr Michael O’Meara said: “We who knew Catherine carry such special memories of the wonderful way she lit up our lives.”

He recalled her father John telling him of the days spent out in the fields with Catherine as a little girl and how the Gowing home became “an ever-growing sanctuary of animals that were unwell”.

Catherine Gowing was laid to rest at St Flannan’s Cemetery following the funeral Mass.