FOREVER YOUNG,
Mourners remember kind and caring mum of four as model Alli laid to rest
MODEL and mother-of-four Alli Macdonnell will be “forever young, forever beautiful”, her funeral Mass heard yesterday.
Hundreds of heartbroken relatives and friends gathered to say a final farewell to the 37-year-old who was also a campaigner for autism.
Dubliner Alli was signed with Andrea Roche’s AR Model Agency and had enjoyed a 12-year career in the industry.
Her untimely death last Monday is being treated as a “personal tragedy”.
At the packed Mass in the Church Of The Assumption in Dalkey, Alli’s brother Michael described her immense love for her four children.
He also recalled how she loved to sing and dance as a child for their proud parents Michael and Imelda.
He told mourners: “Alli was a wonderful person, kind and caring and generous to us all. She would be always there for our family at all times. During her teens she was also part of a girl band with her sister Emma and her good friend Tammy. Alli played in support of Boyzone at the Point Theatre.
“Allison went on to become a successful model and she campaigned tirelessly for the Autism Action charity.
“But Allison’s biggest
Hearse leaves for cemetery in Co Tipperary Clockwise from top left, model pals Alison Canavan, Kerri Nicole Blanc, Vivienne Connolly and Sarah Mcgovern success was her four beautiful children who she loved dearly – Alex, Sara, Harry and Siena Rose.
“Alex was the one who she loved kissing his cheeks. She loved spending time with Alex and Sara and their long chats in the car.
“She loved Harry’s thought that she was the most amazing looking mum. She loved how Siena would be when
she said, ‘Hey babe’. There are no
words to describe how special our sister, mother, daughter, niece, aunty, cousin and friend was to all of us.
“She will always be with us, Alli Macdonnell, forever young, forever beautiful.”
There was some gentle laughter as dad Michael said: “Everyone who knew her, the glass was always full and I mean that in every sense.
“And on behalf of all my family, her brothers and sisters, the kids, the support we have received over the last 10 or 11 days has been phenomenal.”
Friends who gathered to pay their respects included model and actress Vivienne Connolly and models Sarah Mcgovern and Gail Kaneswaran. In his eulogy, Fr Declan Gallagher said