Neil Reilly, the man who was pursued and killed by a group of men after he fired shots at a house in west Dublin last month, has been remembered by his family at his funeral Mass in Lucan as a father with “a heart of gold” .
His mother Marian told mourners at St Patrick’s Church, Esker, that her son’s “senseless, brutal murder makes no sense to any of us at all”.
Mr Reilly died after being beaten, stabbed and run over by a car on a road at Esker Close, Lucan, in the early hours of January 18th. During the his funeral Mass his family thanked An Garda Síochána for their compassionate help.
His mother asked mourners to remember her son as “the person we all know and love. Remember the Neil who was full of life, the Neil who aways had a brilliant sense of humour, the Neil who loved life and had great determination and strength”.
‘New life’
She said her son loved his family and friends, his fiancee Gina and his four children as well as his dogs, Sarah and Gary. She said Gina and Neil got engaged on Christmas Day and “he was so looking forward to starting his new life”.
A model car and a set of jump leads were brought to the altar and the congregation was told that Mr Reilly was a “first class mechanic” who was about to open his own garage. Also brought to the altar were photographs of his family and beloved pets.
In her eulogy, Ms Reilly said her son and grandson “were not only father and son, they were buddies, best friends. They went to the gym, they had craic together, they had fun together – we all had brilliant fun together”. She said Mr Reilly’s daughters would always be his princesses.
Treasured memories
“I am so grateful and proud of Neil,” she said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together in the past few years and I will always treasure that memory. He got taken away from us all way before his time.”
She said Mr Reilly was “a great friend” to many people. “Neil was a man with a heart of gold. He has shown nothing but determination, dedication, respect and love for us all . . . Neil was very happy and very content in himself.”
To applause, she concluded her eulogy by saying, “Neil’s motto was: ‘thumbs up’ – a big hearty laugh – ‘we’ll get sorted; forwards, not backwards’.”
