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Nearly 300 mourners attended St Mary’s Cemetery in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, on Thursday to bury a 22-year-old man who recently died in Britain.
Members of the traveling community in Carrick-on-Shannon and the City of Longford joined relatives living in Britain for Davey Reilly’s funeral, which drew a large Garda presence to the city over the past two days.
Throughout Wednesday, mourners came to the Shannonside View estate in the Attirory area of the city to pay their respects. Dozens of UK-registered vehicles were seen across the city on both days.
Gardaí installed checkpoints at the access to the city via the N4 and also at various points in the municipality of Attirory.
Residents of the estate erected a large tent at the site that was packed Wednesday night. Portaloos were also erected and a UK registered jeep was parked in front of the estate’s entrance to block vehicle access.
After the funeral, large numbers of mourners who had initially been turned away gathered on foot in a nearby parking lot, passed through a Garda checkpoint and made their way to the nearby tent.
The funeral mass was celebrated on Thursday by Fr. Frank Garvey PP with a small number of attendees in the church of Santa Maria. After Mass, Mr. Reilly’s remains were brought to St Mary’s Cemetery in a horse-drawn glass hearse led by two white horses.
Three hundred meters from the cemetery, the hearse was greeted by about 100 mourners and the coffin was removed and carried the rest of the way.
Mourners carried out floral tributes and loud music was played as the procession made its way to the cemetery with some 300 people present, none of whom wore protective masks.
After the burial, Gardaí re-established checkpoints at Attirory and tried to prevent vehicles or pedestrians from entering the Shannonside View estate, where the canopy still stood.
The checkpoints continued in the city throughout the night.
Since Wednesday night, Gardaí had informed the people of the area that the Health Law of 1947 (Article 31A-Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No 10) Regulation 2020 was currently in force.
This places restrictions on people hosting outdoor events and traveling outside the home, except with a reasonable excuse, whereas funerals must not be attended by more than 10 people.
In a statement, the Garda called on people to follow the guidelines and show “personal and social responsibility,” saying that the Covid-19 pandemic “remains a public health crisis.”
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