BISHOP DENIS Brennan of Ferns was among the mourners at the funeral yesterday of a man who was killed when he was run over by a stretch limousine in a south Dublin estate at the weekend.
Bill Stafford (28), a father of two, died in the early hours of Sunday when he was struck by the Ford Scorpio limousine near his home in Sandyford.
The Church of the Ascension of the Lord, Balally, was filled to overflowing for the funeral service yesterday morning and a guard of honour was formed outside the church by members of the St Olaf GAA club, who turned out despite driving wind and rain.
The chief mourners were Mr Stafford’s fiancee Líosa McNamara and the couple’s two children, Joseph and Mary, his father Liam, brother Eoin and sister Ruth. Mr Stafford’s mother Margaret, who is gravely ill in hospital, was unable to attend.
Bishop Brennan, who is a friend of the Stafford family, said he hoped that they would find some comfort in the support of neighbours, relatives and friends.
The chief celebrant, Fr Brendan Purcell, said Mr Stafford’s most enduring quality had been the manner in which he had taken responsibility for his two families, the one he was born into and his family with his fiancee Líosa.
The circumstances surrounding Mr Stafford’s death were still being investigated yesterday.
