Cork women whose mother's funeral was allowed just 10 mourners hits out at government

Just ten mourners were allowed at the funeral mass of Eily Collins. Her daughter has lashed out at members of the government for failing to follow its own rules. Picture: Dan Linehan

The daughter of a woman who died in April has blasted politicians who “appear” to believe they are above Covid-19 restrictions.

Colette O’Sullivan was speaking in reaction to Irish Examiner revelations about the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Galway.

Just 10 mourners were allowed to attend the funeral of her mother Eily Collins, who died of Covid-19.

The 93-year-old mother-of-three was one of ten residents at Clonakilty Community Hospital to die from the virus.

Hundreds of her surviving friends and relatives and their families were unable to attend due to the restrictions at the time.

“What happened in Galway does not help the government,” Colette said.

“People need to believe in the government, especially at the moment. We really need to believe the government is absolutely 100% committed to what they have told us to do.

“And that is what leadership is about."

"If the leaders at the top cannot lead by example, then where are we going? 

"If you can't behave the way you want everybody else to behave, then you shouldn't be there and especially on something like this where people are been asked sacrifice everything and everybody is sick of it."

She added: “A lot of people have sacrificed a lot. Everybody else is toeing the line.

"But the impression being given by politicians is that it doesn't really apply to them because they are above it and that isn’t fair.

“The rest of us have had to put up with an awful lot of stuff that we wouldn't want to be putting up with.

“And we have no choice.

“OK, you can say it is a bad judgment, and they can all come out apologising but at the end of the day, what does it mean?"

She said it isn’t just the fact that families like hers had limit the number of people who came to her mother’s funeral but also the many others who have had to forgo social occasions because of Covid-19.

“Elderly people in particular that are cocooning, or staying in – look at the time they are missing,” she said.

“They are staying inside cocooning because they have been told to and most of them are bored out of their brains.

“And they are missing out on very valuable family time as their families are with them. And the sad reality is they will never get that time again.”