Massive outpouring of grief following Caroline’s passing
MOURNERS TRAVEL FROM AROUND IRELAND TO ATTEND FUNERAL OF POPULAR MOTHER OF THREE
A HUGE crowd from all over the county and country arrived at St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy on Friday to bid a fond and final farewell to Caroline Murphy of Monfin and formerly Court Street, Enniscorthy.
The mother of three passed away following an extremely hard fought battle with cancer concluded with her passing last Tuesday, almost exactly five years since she buried her beloved husband Paddy.
Caroline was extremely wellknown as a result of her work both as a nurse, working for a time at St Senan’s Hospital before it closed, and as the Head of Campus at IT Carlow’s Wexford Campus in Wexford town - a role which she was extremely dedicated to.
A native of Keoghville, Co Roscommon, Caroline made the move to Enniscorthy to settle down with Paddy and the pair shared many happy memories in the town, best of all, the arrival of their beloved children Dearbháil, Tommy and Ali. While she may not have been a native of the town, Caroline immersed herself in the local community and was familiar to many through organisations such as Enniscorthy Musical Society and Enniscorthy Gospel Choir, who performed in a poignant, music-filled funeral ceremony, which began with her coffin being carried up the aisle to the sounds ‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Adele. Caroline’s brother-in-law Eamonn Murphy commented on how the lyrics ‘you ain’t seen nothin’ yet’ from the song were, in many ways, symbolic of Caroline’s life.
Friends and family members then presented symbols from Caroline’s life to be laid beside her coffin on the altar. Firstly, soil from her native Keoghville in Roscommon was presented. According to Eamonn, Caroline always saw herself as ‘a woman of the West’, particularly when it came to GAA matters. Her nursing badge was then presented, a job in which her caring and honest personality shone. Next was a pair of highheeled shoes, a symbol of Caroline’s love of dressing up and making an effort to look good, followed by her dancing shoes. Dancing was an enduring love for Caroline and she won two All-Ireland Championships in dancing herself. Dancing also played a part in the cermony with dancers from Scoil Rince Aisling performing. A watermelon was also presented at the altar. Caroline was said to love watermelon and had a great love of food in general and loved nothing more than to gather with friends and family around the table and chat over food.
Fr Billy Swan was joined by Bishop Denis Brennan, Fr Sean Neylon from Caroline’s native Keoghville, Chaplain at IT Carlow Fr Martin Smith and Canon Felix Byrne who she got to know in Lourdes. He said that everyone was ‘filled with great sadness that someone so young could be struck down with a terminal illness when they still had so much to offer and contribute.’
‘ There is an eerie sense of deja vu,’ he said. ‘Five years ago, almost the same crowd gathered to bid farewell to Caroline’s husband Paddy. There’s a sense that this is extremely unfair. Losing both parents so young is heartbreaking for Dearbháil, Tommy and Ali.’
Fr Swan spoke of how, having received her diagnosis, Caroline showed incredible strength and was determined to make memories with her family, which she did during a trip to Lourdes last year. In her work, he said that Caroline had made an ‘immeasurable contribution to the provision of education in the South East.’
He then shared one particular memory of Caroline performing in the Cathedral on Christmas Eve of 2016, when she was in the grips of cancer treatment.
‘I was coming up the aisle listening to the Gospel Choir when I spotted Caroline,’ he said. ‘I expected her to be at home in bed, as she was the middle of treatment, but there she was in her blue gown, singing and swinging. Despite her body being battered by treatment, she was there smiling and singing. I thought to myself, there is a witness to courage and hope.’
In a moving ceremony, tributes were paid to ‘ the best aunt, sister and mother’ whose extraordinary workrate and positive outlook on life inspired everyone around her. To conclude the ceremony, Caroline’s sister Breda read aloud a beautiful poem written about Caroline - ‘a strong and feisty woman with a no-nonsense approach to life’ - speaking of her beginnings in Roscommon to her life in Enniscorthy.
Caroline’s heartbroken daughter Dearbháil thanked everyone for being there and particularly Enniscorthy Gospel Choir for performing. ‘I could feel Mammy in every song,’ she said. She described her mother as being ‘ the best mam and best friend to myself Tommy and Ali’.
She then urged people to remember her late mother for the woman she was, rather than the illness which claimed her life well before her time.
‘ This horrible disease uninvitedly touches so many families,’ she said. ‘Don’t let it win in this way. Don’t let it take from or tinge my mother’s memory. Remember mam for what she was - she was really amazing.’
To conclude, Caroline’s remains were carried from the Cathedral to the strains of ‘Higher and Higher’ by Jackie Wilson, before she was laid to rest in Enniscorthy Cemetery.
Beloved wife of the late Paddy, Caroline is survived by her heartbroken children Dearbháil, Tommy and Ali; mother Bridie; siblings Pat, Breda and Jim; the Murphy family; brothers-in-law; sisters-in-law; nephews; nieces; relatives and a large circle of friends gathered over the years. May she rest in peace.