The north Cork village of Churchtown was in mourning at the weekend as a young mother and her baby daughter were buried together in the same coffin. Ms Carmel Conroy (21) died with her 20-month-old baby Emma in a car crash near Mallow, Co Cork, last Wednesday. Her two best friends, Niamh O'Herlihy (19) and her sister Anita (17), also lost their lives when their Fiesta car was in a head-on collision.
Their car went over a retaining barrier on the road and plunged seven feet down an embankment. It took the rescue services more than three hours to remove the bodies from the wreckage.
The three women, all from Churchtown, had been involved in a folk group in the village, where they had studied music at a music school run by the parish priest, Father Patrick Twohig. They had formed a new band and were on their way to rehearsals when the crash occurred.
The band, Nivita, was due to have played at a gala performance in Adare, Co Limerick, this weekend. It had already recorded a special tribute to the young children who died during the Dunblane school massacre in Scotland and the record - Seventeen Candles - had been played many times on Scottish radio. The President, Mrs McAleese, telephoned Father Twohig after the accident to convey her sympathy. Father Twohig said the loss of three young talented women and a baby girl had left Churchtown shocked and looking for answers. He added that the women had attended his music school for many years and had always given the impression that they had a special talent.
People were at a loss for words in the village and the mood since the accident had been very muted, he said. "When the President conveyed her condolences she said she understood how a small community would feel after such a tragedy but said, too, that the entire country was just as shocked. These were very nice girls, very ladylike and very talented. There is no doubt about it, they had a big future ahead of them. There is great grief and shock here." Baby Emma and her mother Carmel were buried during a separate ceremony in the village. The two O'Herlihy sisters were buried later.
Hundreds of people gathered to pay their last respects, and local children from Scoil Pol formed a guard of honour. During the church ceremony the band's music was played over the loudspeaker system.
The chief mourners at the funeral were Mr Liam O'Herlihy and his wife, Marie, the parents of the O'Herlihys, and their sister Karen and brothers Joe and William; the parents of Carmel Conroy, Mr Colm Conroy, and his wife, Delia, and their surviving children, Teresa, Joan, Colm and Kevin.