‘We’ve lost our three lovely little boys’

In heartrending scenes, as the body of 21-year-old Jonathan O’Driscoll was lowered into the ground, his mother Helen asked to say a few words.

Helped by a number of women, she turned to the 300 mourners to make a short but very poignant speech.

“I want to thank everybody who has been with us since we lost our three lovely little boys,” she said.

“I want to thank you for coming: the priests, the local community, our relatives and extended family, the gardaí, the undertaker and all who have been with us. May God bless everybody.”

Applause broke over the sombre gathering and three doves were released.

Earlier, the chief celebrant at the funeral of twins Paddy and Thomas O’Driscoll, 9, and their brother Jonathan, 21, said more needed to be done to battle “the darkness that seems to be increasingly troubling young minds and hearts”.

The twin boys were found stabbed to death in their home in Deerpark on the outskirts of Charleville, Co Cork, on Thursday night, while Jonathan’s body was recovered some 15km away in the neighbouring town of Buttevant.

Gardaí believe he killed his two brothers, before taking his own life.

In his homily, Fr Tom Naughton said the challenge facing the community in the aftermath of this tragedy was to help young men to communicate their difficulties.

“We are all questioning so many things and, no doubt, we’ll never find the complete answers at this side of the grave.

“But if these days have taught us anything at all, they challenge us to continue and to increase our efforts to understand and to assist, especially young males, to communicate the darkness that seems to be increasingly troubling young minds and hearts,” he said.

“It is possible that we have never had more activities and recreations — all sorts of noises and acquaintances around us. Yet, at the same time, it seems that never have people been so lonely and lonesome.

“Why is this the case, and what must we do to regain the simple joy of a serene and peaceful mind?”

The congregation heard the twins were “loveable rogues” who were fun-loving and energetic.

“They loved playing with their friends. They were very honest, direct and straight. They said it as it was.

“They knew how to say sorry and were famous for their hugs,” Fr Naughton said.

“They were both proud of their special achievement awards in school. Thomas was so proud that he got a Horrid Henry book as a prize in after-school.

“They loved being praised and adored their mum and dad and family.

“Patrick found it hard to mind his things. His hearing aid was dismantled and put back together many times.

“He put his glasses and the hearing aid on the teacher’s desk in school meticulously each day because that was what his mum had said to do and he wanted to please her.

“They took care of each other and stood up for each other,” he said.

The twins’ schoolmates from Banogue National School contributed to the service, before Paddy and Thomas were brought to Holy Cross cemetery where they were buried in the suits they wore for their First Holy Communion.

Jonathan’s remains were held in the church for several hours and he was later laid to rest with his maternal grandparents in Kilmallock, Co Limerick.