Mourners pay tribute to 'special girl' Michaela

Michaela McAreavey will never be forgotten, a mourner at her funeral said today.

The Co Tyrone newly-wed, 27, had it all in front of her, another added.

Danny Carroll, a mechanic from near the Brantry, Co Tyrone, was among many who attended Requiem Mass for the murdered Irish teacher and gaelic games fan.

“She will live long in the memory, she was a very special girl,” he said. “She had it all in front of her, it is just so, so sad.”

The service lasted more than an hour and was broadcast on the internet. It featured Mary Black singing 'Caledonia'.

Another who paid her respects was Seana Murphy, 31, a social worker from Cookstown.

“It was a very dignified ceremony, and heart-warming to see what people thought of her,” she said. “She will never be forgotten.”

Among those in St Malachy’s church were John Devine, a teacher at St Patrick’s College in Armagh and goalkeeper in the senior Tyrone GAA team, a native of Errigal Ciaran parish where the Mass was held and a contemporary of Mrs McAreavey's.

Also present were Aileen O’Hare, teacher in St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon, and a close friend of Mrs McAreavey.

Susan Cullinan, her Irish teacher at Loreto Convent Grammar School in Dungannon and Francie Downey, the groomsman at her wedding, were among those who delivered prayers.

Francie McIlherron from Draperstown, 56, said he had come as a mark of sadness.

“It is a time of mourning for everybody in the county, that is all there is to say,” he said.