The funeral of assault victim Dylan McCarthy (29) is set to take place this weekend in his native Limerick.
The remains of Mr McCarthy, who was fatally attacked in Co Kildare last weekend, will repose on Saturday from 5pm at Daffy’s funeral home, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, followed by evening prayers at 7.30pm.
His removal will take place on Sunday afternoon for 4pm Mass at Peter and Paul’s Church, Kilmallock, with burial afterwards at Dromin cemetery. A large number of mourners are expected to attend the funeral.
Mr McCarthy had travelled to Co Kildare last weekend with other family members to celebrate the birth of a baby. When he and some of his party were socialising in a pub on Dublin Street, Monasterevin, a dispute broke out at around midnight. That incident spilled out onto the street where Mr McCarthy and his father were assaulted by a group of men.
Mr McCarthy sustained head injuries and was unresponsive on the street when gardaí and paramedics arrived. He was treated at the scene and was then taken to Tallaght University Hospital but died there on Monday.
His father was taken to Portlaoise hospital for treatment for head injuries and later transferred to Tallaght University Hospital, though his injuries are not life-threatening.
Gardaí believe the McCarthys were attacked by a group of men from Co Kildare and that they have identified the attackers, although no arrests have been made yet. There were a large number of people in the pub when the dispute broke out, and CCTV images captured the start of the incident and the continued assault on the street outside.
Mr McCarthy is survived by his parents, Eamonn and Marita; his partner, Aoife Talty; and his sister Orla.
Local Kilmallock priest Fr Chris O’Donnell said there was a “cloud of awful sadness over the town”.
“Everybody is heartbroken. The family are the quietest, nicest people. People would only speak good of them. It is every family’s nightmare,” said Fr O’Donnell.
“There is nothing but prayers and love for them. They were just good, honest people in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now we are left with this awful sense of the tragic nature of life and violence and repercussions.”
