A community gathered together in grief yesterday on Cork's north side as the two 14-year-old girls who were killed in a traffic accident on Monday afternoon were buried.
Thousands of schoolchildren in the area, with parents and friends, attended the Church of the Resurrection in Farranree. Schools in the area closed, and as has been the case for the past number of days, young people filed into the church from early morning to pray. There were tears and hugs as the youngsters comforted one another.
Laura Wyse of Fair Hill Drive and Jennifer McCarthy of Bridevalley Park had been friends from childhood. They had attended primary school together at Scoil Aiseiri Chriost and then moved to the adjoining North Presentation Convent.
Their deaths have shocked the entire city. The girls were knocked down at Knockpogue Avenue by a pick-up truck as they made their way home from school.
The two girls died within hours of each other at Cork University Hospital on Wednesday.
On Thursday a special Mass was celebrated for students in the area. The congregation overflowed the church, which can accommodate 1,400 people. Candles were brought by the students to the altar, and the wife of the driver of the pick-up truck also placed a candle on the altar. Father Bertie O Mahony, one of the concelebrants at the Mass for Laura Wyse yesterday, said that the Farranree community had known its share of tragedy but the community was strong and closely knit and knew the gift of sharing, whether it be in sadness or in celebration.
The chief concelebrant, Father Gus Byrnes, said: "None of us here will forget last Monday when Laura and Jennifer were on their way home from school and were tragically killed. But what we are feeling is nothing compared to what Laura's and Jennifer's families are feeling."
The funeral Mass for Jennifer McCarthy was celebrated by a family relative, Father Teddy O'Callaghan, in the same church. Again, the congregation filled the church to overflowing and there were poignant scenes.
Jennifer was buried at Kilcully Cemetery, near Farranree, and Laura at St Mary's Cemetery, Curraghkippane.