A PRIEST warned young men about the dangers of driving on our roads, adding that cars are a “deadly weapon”.
r Seán Ó Longaigh, Pastor of Askeaton, Co. Limerick, spoke at the funeral service for young groom Myles “Miley” Harty, who was killed in a car accident on the morning of his wedding on the morning of his wedding.
Mr Harty, 20, was a passenger in a silver-colored Skoda hatchback who left a section of the R518 Askeaton on Rathkeale Street and hit a post at around 1 a.m. A passenger in the back seat was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver, a man in his late teens, was arrested at the scene of the accident and questioned by Gardaí before being released without charge pending filing with the director of the prosecution.
Regarding road safety in general, Fr. Seán Ó Longaigh said to the congregation at St. Mary’s Church in Askeaton: “I want to appeal to our young people because accidents are preventable; Cars are a wonderful gift, a great convenience, but they are also a deadly weapon. “
“The request that many of us would surely make here is to be aware of the danger to yourself and others while driving – you are too important to us to lose,” said P Longaigh.
Mr Harty, a member of the traveling community, was due to marry Kate Quilligan of Thomondgate, Limerick City, at St. Munchin’s Church on the morning of the fatal collision.
Fr Seán Ó Longaigh said to the parents of Mr. Harty, Margaret and Myles Snr: “Your loss is great, no one is really destined to bury any of their children, it is a heartbreaking experience, however [Miley] has a cherished place in your hearts, a place it will never displace. “
“There follows a numbness, a disbelief, a sadness, and I’m sure there is still the difficulty of accepting that it actually happened – it’s more like a bad dream.”
Fr Seán Ó Longaigh said Mr. Harty and his fiancée Kate Quilligan should have celebrated their wedding, “but of course so many circumstances added grief to grief, and how much more difficult that made things, especially for his bride, Kate”.
“You and the rest of the family had to move from a day of great joy to a day off of deep grief in a moment,” said Fr. Longaigh.
The fatal collision in which Mr. Harty died “ended all dreams and opportunities,” he added.
In tribute to the 20 year old, Fr. Longaigh said, “I know that Miley loved his family, especially his mother and grandparents”.
“As you all know, Miley made friends easily, and he had many friends, he lit up people’s lives; he loved horses and greyhounds and hunted with his friends. “
The mourners shared a lighthearted laugh as the priest joked, “Miley was extremely generous and would share anything – but not, I believe, his kebab, chips, and cola; Everything has a limit. “
With the help of Rev Patrick Comerford, Limerick & Killaloe, Church of Ireland, Fr. Longaigh added that after the tragedy, “people” gathered around the family “to comfort you, but there is a grief that only you have “.
An American steel coffin containing the remains of Mr. Harty was driven to the church in a black hearse behind a sulky and led by family members walking with a banner with photos of relatives saying “RIP Miley, you are with your” family now ” .
Mourners, including Ms. Quilligan, wore white T-shirts with a photo of Mr. Harty that read “RIP BOSS”.
A large poster of the deceased and another of him and his bride were displayed next to his coffin and the floral tributes on the church altar.
Well-known Limerick singer Sinéad O’Brien from Patrickswell played songs like the Westlife hit You Raise Me Up.
A large crowd listened to mass over a loudspeaker in front of the church and along the street, while a smaller group of Mr. Harty’s closest relatives and friends gathered inside.
Mr. Harty’s loved ones brought items to the altar that were important to him, including a bottle of Coke, hair gel and deodorant, his cell phone, a halter and rope, and a Limerick GAA jersey.
“He would have really enjoyed it [the All-Ireland final] Last Sunday he must have looked at it from a different angle, ”concluded Fr Seán Ó Longaigh.
Mr. Harty’s coffin was hauled out of the church to a waiting white four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage for its final resting place in the Reilig Mhuire cemetery in Askeaton.
