Rosaleen McDonagh made her last journey accompanied by symbols of things she loved most dearly in her young life.
Two giant inflatable Peppa Pig balloons were tied to the back of a horse-drawn hearse, the two white horses leading with pink feather plumes.
A cerise-coloured inflatable balloon was also tethered to the back of the hearse, a reminder of her age – three. Rosaleen died when she was hit by a car outside her home in Cosby Avenue in the Fairgreen residential area of Portlaoise last Wednesday.
She was one of four members of the Travelling community who died on the roads in the same 24-hour period last week.
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As the hearse prepared to leave the grounds of the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Portlaoise, members of the congregation let off balloons symbolising her life accompanied by a soundtrack of the John Legend song All of Me.
The hearse made its way through the streets of Portlaoise to St Joseph’s Cemetery, Mountmellick, with many of the mourners on foot behind wearing identical pink shirts with the slogan: “RIP Princess Rosaleen”.
Her funeral Mass was told by her aunt MaryLou McDonagh that she was a “diamond” and a “beautiful little angel”.
She was an affectionate child who would cuddle up to those she trusted and who was loved by those in turn. In short, her aunt concluded, she was “too good for this world”.
At the concelebrated Mass, the parish priest, Monsignor John Byrne, spoke of the tragedy of a death at such a young age.
He extended his sympathies to Rosaleen’s parents, Bernard and Victoria, and to her siblings Julia, Valerie, Priscilla and Jolene.
Also present in the congregation were Rosaleen’s four grandparents, Willie and Winnie McCarthy, and Bernard and Margaret McDonagh.
“Her grandparents adored her too, loving her was a great pleasure,” MaryLou McDonagh said.
“Rosaleen, your grandmothers, your grandfathers, your mommy, your daddy, your aunties and uncles and all your relatives love you very much, our Rosie.”
