Hit-and-run victim Marguerita O'Rourke laid to rest in Rathkeale
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A mother of one killed in an alleged dangerous driving fatal collision in Rathkeale was brought to her final resting place Sunday in a glass carriage led by ten horses.
Marguerita O’Rourke (née Sheridan), aged 21, from a well-known family in the west County Limerick town, died after a van collided with a set of gates she was standing beside, on December 21.
A 42-year-old man is currently before the courts charged with dangerous driving causing Ms O’Rourke’s death, as well as a number of other charges arising from the day in question.
Up to 1,000 mourners attended Ms O’Rourke’s funeral mass, held at St Mary’s Church, Rathkeale.
The church was decorated in heart-shaped, white, rose floral tributes, which framed photographs of the deceased and of her with her husband.
Family friend, Fr Liam Enright, chief celebrant, said of the ceremony: “I spoke about Margarita, I knew her since she was a young child here, she was the heart and soul of her family, full of divilment, full of wonder.
“She loved, as all the girls here love, to get the hair and make-up done, and then she fell in love.
“When she met her husband, Denis, they were like Romeo and Juliet, they just loved each other, she saw no one else except him.”
Fr Enright said the loving couple “were married here last year, and a month ago yesterday, they welcomed baby Edward into their lives".
"And, so, a month after Edward was born, Marguerita was brought to this church.
“We pray that her son will know about his mum from the love that he receives from all those around him, who will nurture him," the priest added.
Fr Enright said the Sheridan and O’Rourke families had received condolences from “so many people from all over Ireland and beyond, in America and England”.
“They have sent messages of support, to watch over baby Edward, and Denis, and her parents and siblings,” added Fr Enright, who was assisted by co-celebrants Fr Derek Leonard, Fr Willie Russell, and Fr Maurice Costelloe.
Friends of the deceased wore shirts emblazoned with Ms O’Rourke’s picture, and an 8ft photograph of the deceased and her husband, stood at the end of a white carpet at the main entrance to the church.
Large television screens inside the church and at points around the town showed photographs of Ms O’Rourke in happier times.
A photograph of Ms O’Rourke on her wedding day at the same church in December last year lay beside her coffin during Sunday’s funeral mass.
A white, Mendyka glass-panelled carriage, led by two black Friesian horses and eight white shire horses, provided by Thomas Clarke Carriages, Dublin, and John O’Grady Carriages, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, carried Ms O’Rourke’s remains from the church to St Joseph’s Cemetery, Rathkeale.
'Love Story' by US country-pop star Taylor Swift, and 'The World’s Greatest', by US rapper R Kelly, were played from a sound system as Ms O’Rourke’s remains left the church.