‘Shock and gloom’ hangs over Kerry community
According to Fr Brendan Walsh, however, the spirit of solidarity that exists in rural Ireland will help the community in the next few days.
“There are two families this morning who are absolutely devastated,” Fr Walsh said.
The late Mr O’Mahony had been a bachelor farmer and was “a devoted churchgoer” attending Mass regularly, the priest said.
He had been a skillful farmer and a quiet man.
“He was a man who was liked by the community and very well-respected by all who knew him,” the priest told Radio Kerry.
There was a sense of “awful shock and gloom” over the area.
“The good thing about a rural area like Ballyduff and Causeway is there is a great community spirit,” he said, although they had never been through a tragedy of this kind before.
Fr Walsh spoke of the strong faith that was in the two north Kerry parishes and how he had noticed locals dropping into say a prayer at the church in Ballyduff after news of the incident broke on Tuesday.
He also spoke of how the people were bracing themselves for what would emerge in the next few days.
“The next few days will be very difficult as more and more details emerge,” Fr Walsh said, adding “these are very difficult days” for the area.
