MUSIC, A LAB COAT AND LIPPY... EIMEAR’S LIFE

FOR CLOSE to ten minutes Eimear Walsh’s parents, Jim and Patricia, and her brother Robert stood at the entrance to Foxrock Church, waiting for her coffin to be carried in and her funeral Mass to begin. Their arms wrapped around each other for support, Patricia in the middle, flanked by her husband and son, they exchanged a few words and fleeting smiles as they waited in the blazing sun. But for the most part they remained silent, staring at Eimear’s coffin in the hearse parked just a few feet away.

At precisely 11am the bells of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour began to strike and Fr Paul Ward, an old family friend, made his way towards them.

Embracing Patricia and offering firm handshakes to Jim and Robert, he spoke quietly to them for a few moments before nodding to the dark-suited pallbearers. It was time to begin.

Hundreds of mourners had begun filling the church more than an hour earlier. Dozens more stood outside in the mid-morning heat, while others made their way into the Pastoral Centre next door, where chairs had been set out in front of large screens.

Eimear was a beautiful singer and long-time member of the Family Mass Group – and music played an important role throughout yesterday’s ceremony.

She had studied with well known jazz singer Honor Heffernan, who was there to sing the recessional hymn, For Good, from the Broadway musical Wicked.

Indeed one of the symbols of the vibrant 21-year-old’s life, presented at the altar just before the Mass began, were some sheets of music. There was also a medical book and laboratory coat, to represent her chosen career.

Most poignantly, there was a collection of beauty essentials – false tan, hair straightener and a lipstick. Her cousin Sheila Sharma presented a pair of dancing shoes. ‘Eimear absolutely loved dancing,’ Fr Ward explained.

The age-profile of the mourners was striking. Most were in their early 20s, a large percentage were young women. There seemed to be almost an agreed uniform of smart, black skinny jeans and an assortment of dark-coloured tops.

Fr Ward’s homily was measured and personal. He had known Eimear since she was a young girl and he shared anecdotes about her passing her driving test first go despite very little experience and her surprise decision in sixth year to study medicine.

‘In typical Eimear fashion, she knuckled down and got the grades she needed to go to UCD.’

As the Mass ended, a stream of young women, all in Eimear’s year in Loreto Foxrock, filed out of the church and arranged themselves into a giant semi-circle. Red-eyed and exhausted looking, they stood quietly, many of them clutching each other’s hands, some of them silently sobbing.

They watched as the Walsh family, Jim’s arms once again wrapped around Patricia, their son Robert at their side, followed Eimear’s coffin out of the church into to the bright midday sun. They stood on the step for several moments, watching as it was carefully placed back into the hearse, now filled with white and pale pink roses.

They then slowly moved down the stone steps, graciously greeting the mourners who had come to help them say goodbye.