Fr Gaffney in warning to youth of Drogheda
‘In the name of God, let it end now’ - Drogheda priest in plea for end to feud
THE Parish Priest of St Mary’s and Holy Family, Fr Phil Gaffney, hopes that the young people of Drogheda will turn away from the evil of drugs following the ‘ inhumane’ murder of Keane Mulready-Woods.
“I hope that his death will be a warning to other young teenagers who are being groomed by the ruthless criminals, that the promise of money and gifts will inevitably end in tragedy.
‘Keane’s association with them, sadly, led to the inhuman, unthinkable way in which his young life was to end,” he said at the youth’s funeral in the Holy Family Church last week.
“Please learn from his mistakes, getting involved with dangerous criminals, thinking some of them were his friends and yet they would sacrifice him in such a brutal manner.’
‘IT is only when people realise the utter obscenity of violence that violence will end. The only weapons that should ever be used in this community are words.” Seamus Mallon.
IT was a community united in grief and sadness that gathered in Holy Family Church, Ballsgrove on Thursday morning to say farewell to Keane Mulready-Woods.
The 17-year-old teenager died in tragic circumstances four weeks ago, and close family and friends listened as parish priest Fr Phil Gaffney spoke of a sense of relief that the waiting had come to an end.
“Now the mourning can begin, and the burial take place, and proper respect be paid to his memory and prayers be offered for his eternal rest and happiness,” he told the large congregation, which included his Mam and Dad, Elizabeth and Barry, his sister Courtney, his brothers Darren, Ryan and Jack, and his extended family.
However, whilst acknowledging the great sympathy for Keane’s parents and family for the crime committed against a brother and a son, and the great wrong that was done to them, he also recognised there has to be ‘great anger and even sadness’ at the ‘arrogance of those who ‘play God’.
“They took upon themselves to be judge and jury, and executioner. What arrogance. What appalling wickedness and evil. God alone is the Lord of Life – from its beginning to its end.” said Fr Phil. “No-one can, under any circumstances, claim for himself, the right to directly destroy another human being!”
The youth of the young man being mourned was evident, not only in the age of those showing their grief at his loss, but also by the gifts which were placed on his coffin, which itself bore images of his beloved scrambler.
A Gucci cap, his scrambler helmet and gloves, and an image of the teen adorned the white casket, with many young friends also bearing his photograph on their t-shirts.
“To say that the death of Keane has shocked and appalled the town of Drogheda would be a total understatement,” added Fr Phil. “This young man, at the time not 18 years of age, has been lost in the most gruesome way to his family. We know that Keane’s tragic death has devastated you. We all want to reach out to you with love and reassurance. We all want to gather round you to uphold you. We want to mourn with you. We want to pray with you for Keane.”
He said the murder has brought about an unparalleled level of revulsion, not alone in Drogheda, but throughout our country and, indeed, far beyond. He added that Keane had his troubles, and ‘was young and naive enough to fall in with the wrong people, not knowing or anticipating the dire consequences, and his wish was others would learn from what happened’.
“I hope that his death will be a warning to other young teenagers who are been groomed by the ruthless criminals, that the promise of money and gifts will inevitably end in tragedy. Keane’s association with them, sadly, led to the inhuman, unthinkable way in which his young life was to end,” he said.
“Please learn from his mistakes, getting involved with dangerous criminals, thinking some of them were his friends and yet they would sacrifice him in such a brutal manner. We ask God to forgive him for his faults and failings and to be merciful to him.”
A low-key garda presence outside the church was a reminder of the links being made between the horrific murder of Keane and an ongoing feud in the town, a fact Fr Phil also alluded to in his homily.
“Drugs have become extremely easy for young people to obtain. It isn’t just communities with deprived socio-economic backgrounds that are worse for illegal drug taking, it has become “socially acceptable” across the country among people from all backgrounds,” said the priest.
“These violent incidents need to be a wake-up call for all of us as a society to realise that actions have consequences. People who are taking drugs on a social basis have to realise that what they are doing is fuelling this situation of violence. The problem arises from the ‘normalisation’ of a drugs culture here in Ireland. Drug taking, “doing a line of coke”, has become as normal as having a drink. We need a nationwide response from our Government.”
His last plea, before Keane was taken to his final resting place was ‘In the name of God let it end now.’
“Please learn from his mistakes, getting involved with dangerous criminals”