'Special tragedy' as Cork crash victim laid to rest

The death of any young person is tragic but when it comes suddenly and as a result of a crash, the burden is more difficult to…

The death of any young person is tragic but when it comes suddenly and as a result of a crash, the burden is more difficult to bear, mourners were told yesterday at the funeral Mass of a young man killed in a car collision near Fermoy in north Cork at the weekend.

Castlelyons curate Fr Dan McCarthy said the death of 19-year-old James Sexton from Firmount, Castlelyons, and his friend, 22-year-old Michael Murphy, also from Castlelyons, was one of the darkest days seen by the north Cork community.

"This church of St Nicholas's has through the years of its history seen many funerals, all of them sad, some of them tragic but there is a special tragedy in the death of anyone young," Fr McCarthy told mourners at James's funeral Mass yesterday.

The two friends were fatally injured when the car in which they were travelling as rear-seat passengers hit a wall at Strawhall near Fermoy at about 9.15pm on Sunday.

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Leading the mourners yesterday were James's parents, Seamus and Breda, his brothers, Declan and Leo, and his sister, Emily, as well as hundreds of friends and team-mates from the many sporting clubs in which he was involved. James played soccer with Castlebridge Celtic and hurling and football.