Berkeley Tragedy: ‘A determination to be as self-reliant as possible’

Overlooking his daughter’s coffin, Olivia Burke’s father Paul showed signs of despair when he said it was the third time he had spoken at a funeral in recent years, writes Ed Carty.

“I have to be honest, this time round it is a challenge to stand here. No parent wishes to see their child depart this life at such a tender age,” he said.

Mr Burke told the congregation in Foxrock — including the family of two others killed in the Berkeley tragedy, Ashley Donohoe and Eimear Walsh — that the death of someone who lived a long and full life can subconsciously be accepted.