‘We promise you sister, we will get the justice you deserve,’ Scarlett Faulkner funeral told
Time stood still by Clancy’s Strand in Limerick as mourners gathered to pay a final farewell to Scarlett Faulkner, who was remembered as a loving mother who “gave everything” to her little girl.
A glass horse-drawn carriage made its way to St Munchin’s Church, where pictures of Scarlett, adorned with flowers and lilac ribbons, were displayed, with a bright pink carpet lining the entrance.
At the back of the funeral cortege, a little girl smiled and waved at passersby. When the carriage stopped, played aloud for the mother of one who died on Monday.
Branches of cherry blossom lined the way to the pulpit as friends, family, and neighbours gathered to pay their respects.
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One of her 15 siblings, Victoria, said Scarlett had “touched many hearts” and was a “good mother, sister and sister-in-law”.
“I cherish every memory that we share together,” she said.
“You were a character. You always made us laugh, no matter what room we were in. You made our bad days better.”
She said Scarlett gave “everything a mother could give” to her daughter Oceanna, who is aged six.
“We promise to show her all the pictures of you and her, making fun memories together,” she said.
“We will love you forever, our sleeping beauty. From your 10 sisters and five brothers, and most importantly your beautiful daughter Oceanna, who you loved dearly.”
Applause from Scarlett’s loved ones filled the church as Victoria added: “We promise you sister, we will get the justice you deserve.”
Canon Donal McNamara of St Munchin’s Parish delivered the homily at the Mass.
“It’s never easy to accept death, irrespective of age, illness or whatever, bidding farewell at any stage in life as we all know, is always so challenging," Fr McNamara said.
"It never comes easy. However, when the parting is final and in death and with someone of the age of Scarlett, it undoubtedly compounds the sorrow. Not only have you lost someone, but you yourselves can feel quiet lost.
"At our Mass today, giving thanks to God for the life and love of Scarlett and praying for her loss, is tempered with the knowledge that Scarlett is now at rest and at peace."
He added that when someone we love dies, whatever the relationship, “we too die a little in a sense”.
“All ends”, Fr McNamara said. “The familiar voice, the footsteps, the shared memories, the long associations, the laughs, and jokes.
“When death comes suddenly and unexpectedly and in circumstances marked by conflict, without doubt, it can leave us with lots of questions that feel too heavy to carry and wounds that seem too raw to even touch.
"I’ve been there, I’ve been called out late at night to identify and administer the sacraments to my brother who was killed in a car accident, so I can fully understand and appreciate your feelings.
“And yet even here, especially here, we turn to the heart of our faith. We must always remember that God is not distant from human suffering.
"In his Son Jesus Christ, we see a God who entered into our broken world, who experienced betrayal, violence and death, not for anything he had done, but rather for our sins and for the sins of the world. The cross that you carry today tells you that God does not stand apart from tragedy, rather he enters into it. And the resurrection of Jesus tells us that tragedy does not have the final word.”
Scarlett was buried in Meelick cemetery, Co Clare.
Scarlett Faulkner died on Monday, aged 29, after sustaining serious head injuries in an assault. Her family made the decision to take her off life support after doctors said she was showing no signs of response.
The young mother, from Longpavement in Limerick city, was attacked on March 21 on a road outside Birdhill in Co Tipperary.
A woman aged in her 40s and a teenage girl have been charged in connection with the assault.
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