St Patrick's Day crush deaths: Funerals take place for teenage victims
Three young people were killed outside a party at the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, on Sunday.
Tuesday 26 March 2019 15:02, UK
A priest has described the deaths of three teenagers in a crush outside a hotel in Cookstown, County Tyrone as "needless".
Hundreds of people have attended the funerals of Morgan Barnard, 17, Lauren Bullock, 17 and 16-year-old Connor Currie.
All three victims of the tragedy lived within a five-mile radius and the sense of grief in Dungannon, Donaghmore and Edendork was palpable.
Mourners at the funeral of Morgan Barnard heard him described as "a vivacious, charismatic and energetic young man".
Father Aiden McCann spoke of his humour, his love for the Irish language and how he didn't care what others thought of his hair style, hair colour and flamboyant shirts.
Lauren Bullock's pink coffin, decorated with flowers, was followed by an enormous but silent crowd.
Schoolchildren lined the route while the church bell tolled.
Father David Moore said Lauren had been "living the dream, energetic and full of life, doing and enjoying all the things that made her happy".
He told mourners, many of them her school friends, that St Patrick's Day 2019 would never be remembered as a celebration of Ireland's patron saint.
Father Moore added: "Instead, for many decades to come, Saint Patrick's Day 2019 will be called to mind as the awful day when three beautiful young people, all in the prime of their lives, were overpowered, literally in the mad rush of our modern world, and needlessly lost their lives."
Connor Currie's Gaelic football team comforted one another as his coffin was carried into the rural Church of St Malachy.
Father Kevin Donaghey explained that the young footballer had been born in County Armagh, not County Tyrone, and spoke of his divided loyalty.
He said: "He recently went to the McKenna Cup Final with his Tyrone top on but before leaving, he let his Armagh-born mother have a peep to see that he had an Armagh top on underneath the Tyrone one - Connor was going to be a winner either way!"
Father Donaghey said Connor's parents called him "a gem", recalling that he never left the dinner table at home or the classroom in school without saying "thank you".
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, addressed all three funerals, describing this part of Tyrone as "a valley of tears".
He said: "The shocking events of Sunday last have reminded us that life is very fragile; we need to cherish every moment and always look out for each other, and keep each other safe."
Michael McElhatton, 52, who owns the Greenvale Hotel where the deaths occurred, was arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of manslaughter.
He was subsequently bailed to return for further questioning in future.
A 40-year-old man also being questioned on suspicion of manslaughter remained in police custody for questioning on Friday morning.
Police urged witnesses to come forward after the crush and said they would not be punished for being underage.