Saturday, 10 November 2012.
About 2,000 people attended the funeral of murdered nanny Aoife Phelan in Ballyroan, Co Laois this afternoon.
The village came to a standstill with all businesses in the village closed for the funeral and hundreds of parked cars lining the roads on either side as a huge congregation gathered at St Patricks Church to pay tribute to the life of the 30-year old, whose body was discovered this week.
Guards of Honour were provided by Ballyroan Ladies Football Club and Ballyroan Brass Band. The band played a selection of poignant tunes, including Abide With Me.
Speaking at the funeral mass at St Patrick's Church in Ballyroan, Parish Priest Fr Gerard Ahern commended Ms Phelan's mother Betty, father Michael and 11 siblings on their dignity in recent weeks.
Fr Ahern described Ms Phelans death as a senseless" loss.
That someone should die in the circumstances that Aoifes life was taken goes beyond human understanding, he said. We shouldnt be here today, but that is the reality we are confronted with.
He said Ms Phelan was a happy person who lived life to the full. She was caring and thoughtful and had a love of children. She was also a rugby supporter and a Chelsea fan. She had a talent for sketches and a love of music, Fr Ahern said. And he urged family and friends not to forget the good times they shared with "a beautiful caring daughter and sister." Ties of friendship and affection did not unravel with death, he said.
Fr Ahern thanked the community of Ballyroan and paid tribute to the gardaí, in particular the liaison officer appointed to the family.
Emblems placed on Ms Phelan's coffin by family members included teabags, a Chelsea football club mug and a Bon Jovi CD as well as art materials.
Prayers were said for her family, friends and all those who had helped in the search for her body including gardai as well as for the entire community. At the close of the funeral, family members read poems and shared memories of Ms Phelan before she was laid to rest in St Patrick's Cemetery .
May the angels come to meet her and bring her into the presence of God.
May her soul be at God's right hand.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1110/funeral-of-aoife-phelan-held-in-co-laois.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1110/breaking8.html
. I can only assume this was information fed to the police by the suspect, which in itself seems strange: why confess but give the wrong details? Would the sentence be less for a confession in the absence of a body (ie. if they were looking in the wrong place and therefore she was never found). I doubt that very much, as surely there just has to be proof of death, and the confession would fill in the blanks, so what could be gained by lying (still confessing to murder, just lying about where the body was put afterwards)? And if there was NO confession, what led the police to think that was the case? I don’t expect answers, just processing my thoughts really, and merely speculating!
