Friends & family say goodbye to ‘beautiful’ Elisha

A PRIEST at the funeral Mass for Elisha Gault yesterday urged teenagers to prioritise “real people” rather than artificial friends online.

Hundreds of mourners were in attendance as the tragic 14-year-old was buried yesterday in Piltown, Co Kilkenny.

Elisha’s parents Grainne Gault and Cameron Moore helped carry their daughter into Church of the Assumption where she made her Communion and Confirmation.

Parish priest Fr Paschal Moore described Elisha as a “beautiful young girl” and said it was a sad morning for her family, her schoolmates from Comeragh College, the community and all her friends.

He added: “Every funeral is sad. Every departure brings its sorrows but today nothing can compare to the searing grief Elisha’s family are experiencing so our thoughts and prayers are for them on this very sad morning.

“Elisha’s death has raised many questions but hasn’t given many answers.

“The Gault and Moore family have been robbed of the company of their loving daughter, they have been robbed of her unique enthusiasm and her joy and her smile.

“There is a void no one can fill. Elisha’s outward appearance and behaviour were masked by an air of hopelessness within.

“She felt trapped, a prisoner of her feelings which weighed heavily

Elisha Gault, from Tipperary on her and she was in turmoil. Elisha, she took the only route she felt she could take – not the right route, not the right choice.

“Her actions have left her family, community and school friends devastated, upset and confused. We pray she is at peace today.”

The priest also directly addressed her schoolmates and friends.

He said: “Today, boys and girls, I encourage you to form a support network around yourselves.

“I would encourage you to turn off your phone now and again.

“Your friends on Facebook are artificial friends. You need real, genuine, caring people around you and I would encourage every one of you to find a real, good support network for yourselves.”

During the week, Elisha’s mother said on Facebook her daughter “had a genuine soul but she was a troubled girl” and that mental health is “a serious and desperate issue” around the world.

Elisha’s body was found in the River Suir last Sunday.

A huge search was carried out after she disappeared from Dillon Bridge in Carrick-on-suir, Co Tipperary, on St Patrick’s night.

She is survived by her parents as well as her sisters Bhrianna, Chloe-nicole and Saoirse.