Family, friends, and classmates bid final farewell to drowning victim Christopher
Inside the church, mourners knelt in quiet prayer for a 17-year-old whose tragic passing numbed a close community. In the words of a priest, they were “toiling with a multitude of questions and failing miserably to discover reasonable answers’’.
Christopher O’Sullivan’s short life ebbed away after he got into difficulties while swimming in the River Blackwater, near Knocknagree, Co Cork, on Sunday evening. Yesterday, he was laid to rest in his native Rathmore, Co Kerry.
State examinations in Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore were brought forward by an hour yesterday morning to enable students attend the funeral, and his fifth-year classmates in the 430-student school turned out in their navy uniforms to provide a guard of honour.
People of all ages wept openly as they bade farewell to a sports-loving lad who has been described as jovial and full of fun — someone who lifted spirits.
Movingly, friends brought items to the altar that symbolised his life — Rathmore GAA, Liverpool FC and Kerry jerseys, a football and a toy car. Students were also in the choir.
Rathmore parish priest Fr Pat O’Donnell said while the death of a person of mature years was a little more bearable, the death of someone young and vibrant overpowered people and left them shattered in every way.
Having offered consoling words to Christopher’s father and mother, Jerry and Sharon, and brothers Daniel, Thomas and Tyrone, he then turned to young people and told them that being young did not give protection from the cruel turnings of life.
“I know that for all of you, Christopher’s death is most difficult to comprehend and impossible to understand,’’ he said.
Referring to two other tragic deaths in the school, Fr O’Donnell said many of his friends and classmates had been down that road together a number of times this year.
“Trust me, in all our lives misfortune seems to come in groups, but it does not last forever,’’ he told them.
Fr O’Donnell said Christopher had achieved many things in his life, with family, teachers and friends talking about his jovial nature and the joy he brought so many people.
“Today, though deeply saddened by his passing, we give thanks to his cheerful disposition, his caring heart and gentle ways,’’ he told the congregation in St Joseph’s Church.
At the end of Mass, teacher Karen O’Sullivan read a poem, On the death of the Beloved, by mystic and philosopher John O’Donoghue, chosen by staff and students of Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra.
Christopher’s uncle, Pa Joe O’Sullivan, expressed the family’s appreciation for all the support they were receiving.
He also mentioned Christopher’s friends who went to Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, to be with him during his final hours on Sunday night and asked for blessings for them.
“This is a tragic day for all of us, but there’s an old saying that the Lord never a closes a door without opening another one,’’ said Mr O’Sullivan, who concluded by asking for a minute’s continuous applause, which they instantly provided.
To the strains of the Liverpool soccer anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, the much-loved youngster was shouldered to his last resting place in the adjoining cemetery, amid touching scenes.
