Groom killed in wedding day car crash was 'robbed of his dreams', funeral hears

Myles Harty 'lit up people’s lives'

Myles Harty and Kate Quilligan were due to be married on the morning of the fatal crash.

A young man who died in a car crash on his wedding day has been remembered as someone who 'lit up people's lives'. 

Mourners at the funeral Mass of Myles 'Miley' Harty, who died in a single-vehicle crash on the morning of his wedding last Saturday, were told that the tragic accident had robbed Mr Harty of his dreams and possibilities. 

Mr Harty, 20, was a front-seat passenger in a silver-coloured Skoda hatchback which left a section of the R518 Askeaton to Rathkeale road and hit a pole around 1am. 

He was to wed Kate Quilligan from Thomondgate, Limerick City, at St Munchin’s Church, on the morning of the fatal collision.

Fr Seán Ó Longaigh, parish priest of Askeaton, Co Limerick, addressed Mr Harty’s parents, Margaret and Myles Snr, saying: “Your loss is great, nobody is really meant to bury one of their children. It’s a heart-rending experience, but Miley has a cherished place in your hearts, a place he will never be displaced from.

"There’s a numbness, a disbelief, a grief that follows. I’m sure there’s the difficulty, even still, of accepting that it has actually happened, it’s more like a bad dream.” 

Fr Ó Longaigh said Mr Harty and Ms Quilligan ought to have been celebrating their nuptials “but then, of course, so many circumstances added sorrow to sorrow, and how much more difficult that made things, especially for his bride, Kate”.

You and the rest of the family had to go from a day where you were to experience great joy to a day of deep grief, in a moment.” 

The fatal collision in which Mr Harty died “ended all his dreams and possibilities”, he added.

Paying tribute to the 20-year-old, Fr Ó Longaigh said: “I know that for Miley, his family were very important, especially his mother, and his grandparents.

“As you all know, Miley made friends easily and he had many friends, he lit up people’s lives. He loved horses, greyhounds, and hunting with his friends.” 

Mourners shared a light-hearted chuckle when the priest said: “Miley was extremely generous and would share everything, but not, I believe, his kebab, his chips, and his Coke. There's a limit to everything.” 

Speaking about road safety, Fr Ó Longaigh said to those gathered at St Mary’s Church, Askeaton: “I want to make an appeal to our young people because accidents are avoidable. Cars are a wonderful gift, a great amenity, but they are also a lethal weapon.

"I remember well when I got my first car the temptation to speed, the temptation to take risks, and, of course, when you are young, you see no danger but, unfortunately, danger is there stalking us.

"And so, the plea that I’m sure many of us here would make is to be aware of the danger to yourself and others when you drive a car, you are all too important to us to lose you.” 

Well-known Limerick songstress Sinead O’Brien, from Patrickswell, performed songs at the funeral Mass, including the Westlife hit 'You Raise Me Up'.

Mr Harty’s loved ones brought items to the altar which were close to his heart, including a bottle of Coke, hair gel and deodorant, his mobile phone, a halter and rope, and a Limerick GAA jersey.

“He would have really enjoyed [the All-Ireland final] last Sunday. I’m sure he was looking on at it from another point of view,” said Fr Ó Longaigh.