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Paul loved "doing the
lap"
16.07.10
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by Linda McGrory
PAUL Doherty loved
"doing the lap" - a local phrase for driving around
town, showing off your wheels and having the craic,
mourners at his funeral heard yesterday.
On what should have been his nephew's 20th birthday
celebrations, his uncle, Cecil Doherty, was instead
paying tribute to the young lorry driver-mechanic at
his requiem mass.
"He was a hardworking young man and he was always
pushing to get the job done so that he could 'do the
lap'," said Mr Doherty.
"Those of you who know, will know what that is, and
it was with the car of the moment, be it a Golf, a
Sierra, a Passat and, not least, his recent and most
favourite, Audi A4." |
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Mr Doherty said one of
Paul's "great brags" was that he was a better welder
than his dad.
"Just on Friday, he called his dad out to the shed
and said 'now that's how I want you to do it from
now on'," added Mr Doherty, to the amusement of the
congregation.
More than 600 people gathered at St Mary's Church,
Clonmany, for the first of yesterday's four funerals
for the victims of Sunday's horror crash at
Glasmullen. The first three victims, Hughie Friel,
Mark McLaughlin and PJ McLaughlin, were buried on
Wednesday while the final victim, James McEleney,
will be laid to rest this morning. |
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Chief mourners
yesterday were parents Felix and Sally, brothers
Stephen, Mark and Gary and sister Caroline. They
were joined by hundreds of young friends from the
parish.
Children from Carndonagh Community School formed a
guard of honour as his remains were carried into the
chapel at the edge of the village. Paul's love of
country music was much in evidence with renderings
of several classics including Garth Brooks' 'If
Tomorrow Never Comes'
The heartbreaking toll of the last few days proved
too much for some, with a young |
man and a teenage girl
collapsing under the strain. Paul was remembered as
"full of energy and full of life" and someone who
was possessed of a great "joie de vivre".
Clonmany parish priest, Fr Fintan Diggin said: "He
was a hard-working young man, a wage earner who was
making his contribution to society." Among the items
brought to the church by his family reflected his
love of cars and lorries and his work in
construction. The gifts included a copy of Auto
Trader, a toy truck, an earth mover, boiler suit, a
spanner. A photo of his local pub, The High Stool,
also featured.
"These have been hard days in our parish, terrible
days for Paul's family," said Fr Diggin. When all
the media attention dissipated, the community would
"still stick together", he said. "We pray that on
his birthday, Paul is being received into new life,
into an eternal life in heaven."
Meanwhile, Cecil Doherty praised the emergency
services including fire crews, gardai, ambulance
personnel and hospital staff who were at the
coalface of the carnage on Sunday. He also paid
tribute to the people of Inishowen. "Truly we feel
deeply heartfelt...wonderment at your ability to
share in this pain and it makes us proud to be part
of this community.”
He offered the family's support to the sole survivor
of the crash, the driver of the black VW Passat,
Sean Kelly, and his parents, Liam and Pauline Kelly.
Paul and Sean were cousins by marriage.
"This is a very difficult time for Liam, Pauline and
family and for Sean and we sincerely hope that his
recovery will be full and swift and that we, as a
community, will rally round and give him the support
that he needs." Mr Doherty's statement was greeted
with applause from the large congregation. Borne by
devastated family members, Paul was laid to rest in
a grave at the far corner of the leafy adjoining
graveyard. Next to his, was a second freshly dug
grave that would be filled, not three hours later,
by the remains of his childhood friend, Ciaran
Sweeney. Two pals, side-by-side, under an old
sycamore tree. |
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