Berkeley: Families united by an ocean of tears

Messages of solidarity continue to bridge the ocean of tears stretching between Ireland and the US as the families of the students lost in the Berkeley tragedy prepare to bring their loved ones home.

A moving memorial service at University College Dublin heard that while eight hours of time difference and 8,000km of distance separated those lost from those who mourned, the bonds of love and friendship kept them close.

“The sense of community, of communion, has been profound,” said college chaplain Fr Leon Ó Giolláin, who is ministering to the grieving in Ireland, while fellow chaplain Fr John McNerney is providing support to the bereaved and injured in Berkeley

“This wave of solidarity and support rises up when we most need it. It comes at the most critical moment to hold us up and prevent us from falling into complete despair. We feel rippling around us the affection of friends, the sharing of the burden of sorrow.”

That burden was evident on the strained faces of Niccolai Schuster’s father, John, and his younger brother, Alexei, who attended the service — Alexei youthfully eschewing formalities to wear a Bayern Munich football shirt in memory of his brother and their shared love of the game and club.

The grandparents and uncle of Lorcan Miller also attended, all held briefly in the gentle embraces of President Michael D Higgins and wife Sabina, who came as parents as much as public figures to lend their support.

READ MORE: Families of balcony collapse victims lay flowers at Berkeley memorial .

At home and in the US, similar gestures were being made to the families and friends of the other students who died — Eimear Walsh, Eoghan Culligan, Olivia Burke, and Ashley Donohue — as well as to the seven who remain in hospital battling serious injuries.

The UCD service, attended by representatives of all the colleges whose students have been caught up in the tragedy, and of the schools where they received their second-level education, was broadcast live online to reach out to those abroad and let them know they were not alone.

Books of condolence remained open at colleges and public buildings around the country and queues continued to form as members of the public waited in line to add their messages of sympathy.

For those who could not pen their thoughts in person, online books were also catching their tributes with the promise that they, too, would be gathered and brought to the families to show they were not forgotten.

Here and in the US, flowers were laid, prayers were said, and fundraising continued in a naturally synchronised outpouring of sorrow and support.

Appropriately for a tragedy that has struck at the heart of the country’s youth, it was one of their own who perhaps summed up best the emotions that carried across the Atlantic this week.

Marcus O’Halloran, president of UCD students’ union, told the gathering of his peers, their parents, teachers, and friends: “We are all in this together and each one of us feels the pain of the next.”

Earlier, Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan had met with parents in Berkeley, telling them the country had taken them to their hearts. “The six who are dead have become the children of Ireland. They have now become symbols of our country and the people have responded accordingly,” he said.

That response will be more crucial than ever from today as their heartbroken families begin the journey home.

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