Emotionally bruised and bewildered, the community of this tiny village south west of Kilkenny, and its surrounding townlands and parishes, came together on Tuesday night in solidarity with the Hawe and Coll families.
The horrific events remained unmentioned in a memorial Mass for Alan Hawe, who came originally from Windgap, his wife Clodagh (nee Coll) who he killed with an axe in their Cavan home, as well as the couple's children, Liam (15), Niall (11) and Ryan (6), who he stabbed as they slept.
But the killings and his self-inflicted death hung over the service.
Close to 500 people filled the parish church of St Nicholas. A similar number stood outside. All who came filed in and out of the church, walking up the aisle to the front pew to Alan Hawe’s parents, Stephen and Olive, and his brother Enda. They hugged them, shook hands, smiled and said what words of comfort are possible on such occasions.
In front of the altar were five photographs: Alan Hawe on the left, his wife Clodagh on the right; between them their three children. One man approached the photographs and laid four tiny flowers, each wrapped individually, in front of the five frames.
Memorial
Eleven priests, assisted by four altar girls, officiated at what was described as a memorial Mass for the Hawe family. They included Fr Felim Kelly who officiated at the funeral service in Cavan last Saturday; Windgap parish priest Fr Fergus Farrell, eight priests from adjoining parishes, and the chief celebrant, first cousin of Mr and Mrs Hawe senior, Fr Benny O’Shea from England.
Before the Mass as the church filled, Fr Farrell spotted among the congregation a local Protestant priest, the Rev Martin Hilliard, rector of nearby Kells parish. He asked him to join his Catholic brother priests on the altar, which the Rev Hilliard did.
“This tragic happening,” as Fr O’Shea put it, had plunged the Hawe and Coll families and the whole community into gloom. He referred to the biblical story of the resurrection, adding that God opened our minds and taught that beyond death, there was glory.
Blame
The past week, he said, felt that everything had stopped, like a power failure, and some might want to blame someone. But he urged all to embrace the only light that penetrated the darkness and that was the light of Christ. “Neither death nor suffering nor tragedy can separate us from the love of Christ,” he said.
The gathering in Windgap was testimony to the existence of love amid tragedy. “This support is what being Christian is about.”
Enda Hawe gave the briefest of eulogies in which he thanked “those who brought food and sympathy to our home”, the gardaí and medical staff, the undertakers, the people who offered accommodation. He thanked, he said, “the great people of our community and surrounds”.
In a reflection, Fr Farrell said he prayed to God to bring home “pilgrims to paradise” and give them his “sweet embrace”. Standing behind the five photographs, he said: “Rest in peace, gentle souls.”
As the priests left the church and the hundreds outside began pouring in to express their condolences to Stephen, Oilve and Enda Hawe, the congregation sang Amazing Grace.
