Thomas Ruttle funeral: ‘Let our grief be a grief without bitterness’

Mourners at the funeral of Thomas Ruttle, the 56-year-old Co Limerick man who died in a suicide pact with his partner, Julia Holmes, 63, were told yesterday this was not the time for blame and anger.

Addressing a congregation at St Mary’s Church of Ireland in Askeaton, Rev Kenneth Scott said they had come to express their grief and shock, adding: “Let our grief be a grief without bitterness, or blame. Carrying all that was unfinished away from here today will drag us into darkness and become a burden which will hamper us and all that we do for the rest of our lives.”