'Lend a listening ear' mourners told

(A slightly edited version of this piece was published in the Sunday Life of December 4th)

A priest has told over 1,000 mourners at the funeral of tragic Omagh teen and Gaelic footballer Clare McSorley to listen out for one another. Monsignor Joseph Donnelly told the packed congregation in the town’s Sacred Heart Church “if there is a problem, lend a listening ear.”

In his sermon, Monsignor Donnelly said the sadness of the day was in contact to the personality of Clare. “She was respectful of all who knew her,” he said. “She blossomed as a skilled player on the GAA field, playing for her club. For all her achievements, she had a care and attention for the younger members.”

He spoke of how the Lord’s presence can be felt in many ways,  such as when he was attending the memorial ceremony for Clare at Drumragh GAA Club’s clubhouse on Wednesday last. “There were many seats, and I thought if we fill that we’ve done well,” he said. “They only held a fraction of those who were there. The people were lining both sides of the hall. It was a message of support for Clare and her family.”

He then touched on the tragedy which had brought the congregation together. “There are questions as to why the tragedy had happened,” Monsignor Donnelly said. He quoted from Clare’s father, Tommy’, message on Facebook: “‘Please, please don't suffer in silence and let someone know how you feel - there are so many ways to communicate with each other these days but yet there are those out there who feel they can't’.

“For young people I say particularly, listen out for one another. If there is a problem, lend a listening ear.

Monsignor Donnelly quoted an old Celtic prayer: “Be not disturbed/ Be gentle with the one who walks with grief/ If it is you, be gentle with yourself/ Swiftly forgive, walk slowly,/ Pause often, /Take time /Be gentle as you walk with grief.”

Then family and friends brought up offertory gifts, among them a Drumragh football jersey.

Throughout the Mass, a group of Clare’s friends sang and played guitars and a fiddle. Towards end of the service, they played Kodaline’s “All I want”. As the last line ‘I’ll find somebody’ died away the congregation burst into spontaneous applause.

At the end of the Mass, Monsignor Donnelly spoke briefly again, thanking all who had come. “It is a great reflection of the esteem in which Clare was held in the community,” he said.

As the congregation left the church, many younger mourners were crying. Outside, a school friend and his mother had been unable to get into the crowded church. Both were sobbing uncontrollably.

Then her father and other family members carried the white coffin out of the church, followed by her two sisters, both sobbing. Schoolmates from Drumragh Integrated College formed a guard of honour at the church door as she was carried out. On the road, the street was flanked by players of all ages from Drumragh GAA Club, wearing club tops, as the cortege moved slowly off to the cemetery.