Jim Carrey helped carry the coffin of his former girlfriend Cathriona White on Saturday afternoon as she was taken from the church of her home town in Co Tipperary for burial in the nearby cemetery.
The actor arrived in Cappawhite at about 11.45am and entered the church of Our Lady of Fatima for the funeral service which got under way about 15 minutes later.
Afterwards, he was one of six people, along with family members of the 30-year-old beauty therapist who was found dead in her Los Angeles home on September 28th, to carry the coffin about 500 metres from the church to the cemetery on the edge of the town.
Throughout the funeral Mass the church was packed to its 300-space capacity with extended family members and friends, neighbours and those who travelled long distances to say their final farewells to the young woman who had made a life for herself in Los Angeles in recent years.
They were also there to be with Cathriona’s mother Brigid, step-mother Bríd, sisters Lisa, Sarah and Larina, brothers Tadhg and Liam, grandmother Lily, grandfather James and the rest of her immediate family.
Music was performed by relatives and friends, while readings and prayers of the faithful were also led by Cathriona's loved ones. Parish priest Fr Tadhg Furlong, welcoming the congregation at the start of the funeral, said they were gathered because of the young woman's "sudden and tragic death, a death that has silenced the whole community".
He sympathised with the White family and assured them of the community’s ongoing support. “Our feelings of loss are surely only a pointer to the great loss felt by her family and all who were close to her,” Fr Furlong said. “We come together in sorrow and sadness and grief. I pray we come together also in hope.”
“The members of Cappawhite community are here to show their support and concern,” the parish priest said, adding that it was “a very different atmosphere” to the joy-filled day when she was baptised in 1985.
“We gather in silent, grief-stricken fáilte… The circumstances of our being here today cause us great sadness and reminds us how vulnerable we are. We need God’s blessing and the support of each other.”
He said it was good to count the blessings God gave Cathriona throughout her life: her school days in Cappawhite; her involvement in the Junior Legion of Mary; games; altar serving; visiting friends; becoming a hair stylist and beautician; living in England and later in California; and her photography and backstage work.
“Cathriona’s approach to life was to take on, to challenge the county, the country, the world. You remember the outgoing personality; the strong-willed, determined character. Cathriona was a light to so many. Something of the light has gone out. Yet much remains. The light continues to shine. The light of love lives on; the love you had for Cathriona; the love she had for you,” Fr Furlong said.
He referred to the age-old tradition of the ‘Meitheal’, the community coming together to work as a team, especially in a time of tragedy.
“Since Cathriona’s death, the offers of help from so many to her family demonstrates that the same spirit of working together as a team is very much alive. ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’- there isn’t strength until we unite, pull together.”
He wondered what vision did Cathriona’s family and friends have for her and what vision or dream did she have for herself.
“Now we are faced with a life cut short; a vision not fulfilled; a dream not realised. Life today presents us with many challenges and new questions. It’s easy to ask the questions but difficult to find answers. In our sadness, sorrow and grief we find a warning that some of our young people are under pressure. We are acutely aware of the vulnerability. We acknowledge that our young members have first call on our support.”
A guard of honour was provided after the funeral Mass by pupils from the national school in Cappawhite. The former GAA player attended the Convent of Mercy in Doon as a secondary school student and trained in beauty and complementary therapies at the Limerick College of Further Education.
She lived in England for sometime before moving to Los Angeles where she worked in the film industry as a stylist, make-up artist and special effects make-up artist. It was through her involvement in the movie business that she met Jim Carrey and the couple embarked on a relationship, often photographed around Los Angeles, including one occasion earlier this year when Carrey was wearing a Tipperary GAA jersey.
The actor said in a statement following his former girlfriend’s death that he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy. “She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled”. Her family also issued a statement last week, describing her as “a shining light in our lives who was loved deeply by her entire family. We will miss her terribly.