RAY OF HOPE THROUGH CLOUDS OF DESPAIR
Ray of hope through clouds of despair
Symbolic statement broadcast to world
BY RYAN McALEER
r.mcaleer@ulsterherald.com
RAIN drizzled down from dull grey clouds onto the streets of Beragh yesterday as it woke up amidst a dull sense of despair and the surreal.
As the day progressed, the large presence of police and national media told residents that this was not a normal Wednesday. But then it had not been a normal week in the lives of people of Drumduff and Beragh, nor those across the whole of Tyrone and the North.
The dull morning sky was complimented by strong winds which brought a soothing chill as the hour of Ronan Kerr's funeral drew near. Local people stood in awe at the dozens of cameras positioned across the road from the Church of the Immaculate Conception as one dignitary after another made their way into the church.
As the funeral cortege- left the Kerr family borne shortly after 11am, a ray of sunshine began to pierce the grey clouds that had filled the sky all moming. The welcome sunshine was perhaps an omen for hope after almost a week of despair.
The sunshine greeted the pupils of Omagh CBS, the Loreto Grammar, St Oliver I'lunketts, Drumduff PS and the local members of Beragh Red Knights, as they formed a lengthy and symbolic guard of honour, inter-linked with almost 50 fresh faced young police recruits to the PSNI, traumatised no doubt by the fate of their friend and colleague only days before.
The personal tragedy of a local man, taken so young was met with the need for a symbolic statement broadcast across Ireland and the world that Ronan Kerr's death would not be tolerated by the community.
The symbolism would continue as leading figures of the GAA bore Ronan's coffin on their shoulders, passing it to members of the police and eventually to the family at the gates of the church. While the three elements of family, police and GAA represented three key factors in the Drumduff man's life, the act also represented a broader statement. That statement was the need for an acceptance of the police within the community to guarantee the safe delivery of a positive future for us all.
The message continued through the funeral Mass as co-celebrant. Fr John Skinnader and Cardinal Sean Brady urged strong messages to those who persist in senseless killings. But the personal loss of a brother and a loved one was brought home through the emotional eulogy, bravely delivered by Ronan's younger brother Aaron.
It was a day of the surreal in Beragh. underpinned by a grief not felt since the devastation left by the Omagh bomb 13 years before. As family and friends moved onto the Church of St Patrick in Drumduff to bury Ronan beside his late father Brian, the political elite of Ireland stood in the centre of the village urging positive messages to one another on a significant day in the history of the parish, but one nonetheless that Beragh ever wants to experience again.
Symbolic statement broadcast to world
BY RYAN McALEER
r.mcaleer@ulsterherald.com
RAIN drizzled down from dull grey clouds onto the streets of Beragh yesterday as it woke up amidst a dull sense of despair and the surreal.
As the day progressed, the large presence of police and national media told residents that this was not a normal Wednesday. But then it had not been a normal week in the lives of people of Drumduff and Beragh, nor those across the whole of Tyrone and the North.
The dull morning sky was complimented by strong winds which brought a soothing chill as the hour of Ronan Kerr's funeral drew near. Local people stood in awe at the dozens of cameras positioned across the road from the Church of the Immaculate Conception as one dignitary after another made their way into the church.
As the funeral cortege- left the Kerr family borne shortly after 11am, a ray of sunshine began to pierce the grey clouds that had filled the sky all moming. The welcome sunshine was perhaps an omen for hope after almost a week of despair.
The sunshine greeted the pupils of Omagh CBS, the Loreto Grammar, St Oliver I'lunketts, Drumduff PS and the local members of Beragh Red Knights, as they formed a lengthy and symbolic guard of honour, inter-linked with almost 50 fresh faced young police recruits to the PSNI, traumatised no doubt by the fate of their friend and colleague only days before.
The personal tragedy of a local man, taken so young was met with the need for a symbolic statement broadcast across Ireland and the world that Ronan Kerr's death would not be tolerated by the community.
The symbolism would continue as leading figures of the GAA bore Ronan's coffin on their shoulders, passing it to members of the police and eventually to the family at the gates of the church. While the three elements of family, police and GAA represented three key factors in the Drumduff man's life, the act also represented a broader statement. That statement was the need for an acceptance of the police within the community to guarantee the safe delivery of a positive future for us all.
The message continued through the funeral Mass as co-celebrant. Fr John Skinnader and Cardinal Sean Brady urged strong messages to those who persist in senseless killings. But the personal loss of a brother and a loved one was brought home through the emotional eulogy, bravely delivered by Ronan's younger brother Aaron.
It was a day of the surreal in Beragh. underpinned by a grief not felt since the devastation left by the Omagh bomb 13 years before. As family and friends moved onto the Church of St Patrick in Drumduff to bury Ronan beside his late father Brian, the political elite of Ireland stood in the centre of the village urging positive messages to one another on a significant day in the history of the parish, but one nonetheless that Beragh ever wants to experience again.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/2023
Published Date: 07-Apr-11
Related Images
