Hundreds turn out to celebrate the life of Shay Casey

The funeral Mass of 40-year-old Shay Casey, who died in an avalanche on the Alps, was not so much an outpouring of grief as a celebration of a life passionately lived.

St Columba’s Church in Douglas, Cork City, struggled to accommodate the hundreds of mourners who gathered to pay their respects to the youngest son of Jim and Joan Casey, whose well-known furniture stores in Cork and Limerick remained closed yesterday as a mark of respect.

Jesuit priest Fr Jim Culliton told those gathered that Shay’s family were not just devastated, but “broken really” by their tragic loss.