FAREWELL CHARMING BASHFUL HERO DADDY
FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN MARK DUFFY IS HELD IN ST.OLIVERS PLUNKETT CHURCH, BLACKROCK
A lone piper led the solemn procession of mourners to the church of St. Oliver Plunkett, Blackrock, from where coastguard pilot, Captain Mark Duffy made his final journey.
The remains of Capt. Duffy, the coastguard pilot who perished with the crew of helicopter Rescue 116 off the coast of Mayo two weeks ago, had been brought back to the community he loved in Blackrock, and the family he cherished, his wife Hermione, daughter Esme and son Fionn.
And on Thursday morning last, hundreds of people lined the road outside Blackrock church to honour a man who was remembered as a ‘ hero’ to all.
Amongst the mourners were President Michael D Higgins, Catholic Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin and the Taoiseach’s aide de camp.
As the funeral service began, Captain Duffy’s two children brought symbols to the altar which reflected Mark’s life including his slippers, his helmet, his wedding band, and a trio of rings which he had bought his wife Hermione for her 40th birthday, a rugby ball, which reflected the pride he had in his son Fionn’s playing with Dundalk Rugby club, and a selection of cards which his children had made for him over the years.
Celebrating the funeral mass, Fr. Stephen Duffy, an uncle of Mark’s, said it was ‘ one of those occasions where words are not only inadequate, but are entirely useless.’
He spoke of the ‘shared loss, and shared grief ’ that the whole community felt.
‘We are, all of us, steeped in our own personal grief at the loss of Mark, it is a community catastrophe.’
He described the pilot as ‘one of the best and finest people who has been taken from us,’ adding ‘When I learned that Mark and the crew of 116 were missing, I really for the first time truly understood the cry of Jesus when he said ‘My god, my God, what have you forsaken us?’ It seemed so unfair while the rest of us were untouched, a young man such as Mark - happy, generous to a fault, beloved of his wife and children and family, should have been so tragically removed from among us.’
‘Mark was special because he was a father, and like all good fathers, his thoughts were always for his children.’
Fr. Duffy described him as ‘ one of God’s finest creatures. He was kindly, humble, pure of heart, peace loving, good-natured, He had a vivacity, a tremendous sense of fun, a desire in all things to help and be of service.’
‘On this terribly sad day what more can I say, we are all so deeply and personally sad that Mark should have died so young and so unexpectedly, except that Mark will help us to carry the heavy cross of his terrible loss.’
He recalled Mark’s late father, Jimmy, who died ‘suddenly and also so unexpectedly in 1979,’ saying that they will be reunited.
Prayers were offered for the whole crew of Rescue 116, and all of those who took part in the search and rescue mission for the fallen crew, for the people of Blacksod for their ‘outstanding support and compassion’, and for the community of Blackrock who have endured the loss of one of its finest members.
Sympathies were also expressed to the ‘family of the Irish coastguard,’ who had endured the tragedy of searching for ‘ their missing friends.’
There were poignant moments as Mark’s wife Hermione had asked that the poem by W.B Yeats ‘An Irish Airman Forsees His Death’ be recited.
Ed Shivnen, a fellow coastguard pilot, and friend of Mark’s, told how ‘from an early age, he loved aviation, but specifically helicopters, and when they first met as they began their training for search and rescue missions, they discovered a shared passion for old television shows such as Airwolf, and Blue Thunder.’
‘We worked really well together during our initial training, and became good friends. We got fitted out with cool helmets and flight suits and we were living the dream.’
‘After a few years Mark earned his captaincy, and you could see by the look on his face, he loved flying that helicopter.’
‘But during his 24 hour shifts, he would always phone home to talk to Hermione and Esme and Fionn. They were his world.’
He added: ‘ During Mark’s sixteen year career as a coastguard helicopter pilot, Mark has aided and helped and saved so many people, in all weather conditions by
using his steady hand along with the bravery and skill of his crew to cradle those in fear, those in danger on land or on the sea, back to the safety of his Sikorsky helicopter and back home.’
He told how Mark had recently begun transporting sick children who were in need of transplants to London for treatment, and how he had become vocal about the need for more organ donors.
‘Mark embodied safety, and professionalism, whether it was on land or in the air, and was unwavering when it came to making a safe decision.’
He was also a great ambassador for cross border co-operation with the emergency services on both sides of the border, and was highly involved in setting up exercises.
‘ The outpouring of compassion and support from services across the whole island for Mark and his crew Dara Fitzpatrick, Ciaran Smith and Paul Ormsby, was as a result of his hard work and his dedication and friendships.’
Another friend of Mark’s, Garda Declan Whelan said ‘We all know that Mark loved flying, it wasn’t just his job, it was his passion. But in his downtime, his family came first.’
He spoke of Mark’s love for hiking, and the memories they shared climbing the Cooley mountains in particular.
He read out the poignant words on behalf of Mark’s wife Hermione: ‘ The sea, it pulled Mark to it, it’s ebb and flow, the waves, the stillness, the rage, the low tides, the high tides, it was part of our lives. Our home by the sea was our wee world, where Mark would come in after a 24 hour shift and say ‘Oh Hermione, I love coming home to you and the kids, but I love flying that helicopter. He then shut the door behind him and engrossed himself in our home life. Mark and I did everything together as a team, he always allayed my worries. He put a safety net around our home, he lived consciously each day, and lived for the moment. He was a trove of information, from politics to suspension bridges, from music to flying. Our house is full of music every day, we danced, we laughed, we sang, and we hugged. He gave me so much, but most of all we had our children. Living here by the sea was absolute contentment for him.’
‘We had the conversation that should anything every happen, he told me to be strong. He told me I could do it.’
She recalled his steely reserve and selflessness, his ‘desire to do everything right,’ and said they would always remember him as their ‘charming, bashful daddy hero.’