FAMILY and friends gathered yesterday in Gorey to attend the funeral of Kelly Gregan, the young woman killed in a hit-and-run tragedy that took place in the town last Sunday.
St Kevin’s Church in Tara Hill, Gorey, was packed to capacity yesterday as mourners came in large numbers to attend the highly emotional funeral Mass.
Celebrant Fr Billy Flynn told the congregation of a bubbly young woman who loved dancing.
“We focus on the beauty of who Kelly was, and not just on her last moments,” he said.
“She was a girl who truly enjoyed life, and a woman who was full of life.”
A pair of high heels representing her love of a good night out with her friends; a toy dog, symbolising her love of animals; and an art work, representing her artistic personality, her studies in Limerick, and her love of fashion, were all brought to the altar before the ceremony began.
The huge crowd of mourners packed into the small country church and out into the roadway outside. A group of 25 of her college friends from the Limerick School of Art and Design had travelled up for the funeral.
Kelly (20) lost her life following a hit and run on Gorey’s Main Street in the early hours of Sunday morning. Her friend Gillian Fitzgerald was also struck by the car but was not seriously injured.
Her mother Pauline, and her younger sisters Kirsty and Lorna, were comforted by family and friends. Photographs of Kelly with her friends and family were displayed on the altar.
Fr Flynn referred to a framed quotation in Kelly’s bedroom: “Compared to friendship, gold is dirt”. He told those present that Kelly was now reunited with her late father Richard. “They watch over us in these hard times,” he said.
The remains of Kelly Gregan were brought to Mount Jerome Crematorium in Dublin following the funeral Mass.