Family and friends mourn ‘creative and kind’ Ana
FAR too young to have to come to terms with such heartbreaking grief, the friends of Ana Kriegel sat on the grass in silence as they mourned a vibrant, creative and kind girl.
The crematorium at Newlands Cross in Dublin was packed to capacity and beyond, with hundreds attending an emotional memorial service.
Those who came to pay tribute to Ana, who was known to her friends as the ‘Siberian Warrior’, were awash with colour and sparkle – just as the young girl’s parents, Geraldine and Patrick, had requested.
Mourners described themselves as “numbed, confused, very angry and bewildered”.
A crowd from her Dance LA group, all wearing red bandanas, provided a touching guard of honour.
Ana (14) – who was adopted from Russia by parents Geraldine and Patrick – “was taken from us”, according to celebrant Padraic Cawley.
“‘From Russia with Love’ is a title of a James Bond movie I’m sure we’ll all be familiar with,” he said. “Ana came from Russia with love.”
“None of us want to be here this afternoon. None of us want to say goodbye to Ana for the last time,” he said.
“We are all numbed, confused, very angry and bewildered that such a thing has happened to the most beautiful, caring, kind, strong-willed, crazy, sometimes cheeky, but always a loving princess – that was Anastasia Kriegel.”
“This beautiful young girl has been taken from us, yet there’s something that can never be taken away, however long or short a life has been,” he said, adding: “And that is the experience of giving and receiving love.”
Mr Cawley described the period when Ana was missing just over a fortnight ago as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
“The not knowing, the wondering, the anguish, the feeling of helplessness, the despair for three days which I’m sure felt like an eternity,” he said.
Among the gifts placed by Ana’s cousins on her coffin was a Russian flag to represent her heritage, and headphones representing her great love of music.
A memory box from her classmates at Confey College in Leixlip, along with her dance uniform, were also presented.
In attendance at the ceremony was the Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yury
Filatov, while a number of people close to Ana and her family spoke about Ana’s life.
Her aunt Jan spoke at length about her niece’s love of swimming, dancing, make-up and clothes.
She sang around the house regularly, Jan explained. “Ana was adopted from Russia by Geraldine and Patrick on August 10, 2006, the beginning of their beautiful family, which now includes Aaron,” she said.
“It became very clear early on to Geraldine and Patrick that Ana was full of fun, mischief and loved to play. Ana’s individuality and identity was very important to her – it was embraced by her family, who were proud of her to own it.”
“Ana, we love and cherish you,” she added.
Many people involved in Ana’s life lined up to talk about a girl they had really taken to their hearts.
Local TD Catherine Murphy – a long-time close family friend – talked about holidays they all took to France, the native country of Ana’s father, Patrick.
The family would go over there regularly, to the city of Annecy in the south-east of the country.
“Some of her happiest days were spent on holiday in Annecy,” Ms Murphy said.
“Ana was very much looking forward to spending this summer there, with her mam and dad and her brother Aaron.”
“But sadly this is not to be,” she added.
Ana’s former teacher at Scoil San Carlo primary school, Claire McHugh, described how she was not just beautiful on the outside but also on the inside.
After a moving slideshow of family pictures accompanied by music, applause rang out for a beautiful young girl snatched from all those who had loved her so deeply.