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A grieving town came to a standstill as the funeral service for two young siblings killed in a crash was held.
Luke McSweeney, 24, and his 18-year-old sister Grace were among four people who died last Friday when the car they were in overturned and crashed into a wall.
Luke was driving Grace and her two friends, Nicole Murphy and Zoey Coffey who were also 18, to a bus so they could celebrate their Leaving Certificate exam results, which they’d received that day.
Their hometown of Clonmel in Co Tipperary, Ireland was rocked by the tragedy, and saw the funerals of both Nicole and Zoey take place earlier this week.
Irish president Michael D Higgins, Commandant Claire Mortimer, aide de camp representing the Taoiseach, and Education Minister Norma Foley joined the mourners at Saints Peter and Paul’s Church for Luke and Grace’s funeral on Friday morning.
Crowds lined the street as two hearses drove side-by-side through the town to the church.
The two coffins, one of white wood and one of brown, were carried in before crowds filed in through the doors of the church after them.
The street outside remained packed with mourners after the pews in the church filled up.
Luke was only 24 when he died (Picture: PA)
Grace had just picked up her Leaving Certificate results (Picture: PA)
The hearses carrying Luke and Grace’s coffins drove side by side through the town (Picture: PA)
Hundreds of mourners filled the streets (Picture: PA)
All of Clonmel’s businesses and shops closed during the service (Picture: PA)
All the shops and businesses in the town closed during the funeral.
Father Billy Meehan opened requiem mass, thanking the community for their support for the families of the young people.
‘We hope and pray together we will be able to move forward,’ he said.
‘It’s a great sign and mark of respect that all the shops and businesses in our town are closed down for these couple of hours.
‘We greet our president, Michael D, it’s a sign of his great commitment to the people of Ireland, to his reaching out to people at all times in their lives.’
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