Co Louth crash funerals hear they ‘will probably be united ceaselessly in heaven’
Chloe McGee, 23, Shay Duffy, 21, Alan McCluskey, 23, Dylan Commins, 23, and Chloe Hipson, 21, tragically lost their lives in the early hours of Saturday, November 15
Five young people killed in a horror road crash will be will be “united forever together”, a funeral for one of the victims heard. Teacher Chloe McGee, 23, died in the smash near Dundalk in County Louth last weekend, along with student Chloe Hipson, 21.
Chloe had just been made permanent in her school, Ó Fiaich Institute, and recently returned from a holiday in Dubai with her boyfriend Alan McCluskey, 23, who also died along with pals Dylan Commins, 23, and 21-yearold Shay Duff.
She was described as a “bubbly character with infectious laughter” at Saint Joseph’s Church, Carrickacross, Co Monaghan, on Saturday morning.
During the requiem mass, Monsignor Shane McCaughey said the crash had devastated the lives of five families. He added: “Five names that will be forever united when people recall the terrible events.”
He said: “Today, your hearts are broken, Kieran and Eileen, Aaron, Stephen, Nicola and all the family and friends and neighbours of Chloe. Yet we can all say today; thank God for the life of Chloe McGee, thank God for her twenty-three years of life.
“Thank God for her fun and her joy, for her determination to overcome obstacles and her willingness to achieve her goals, for her energy and her dancing, for her charming smile and his radiant love.”
The pals were travelling together in a Volkswagen Golf on their way to Dundalk for a night out when the tragedy happened. A sixth person who was in the car, also aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries and has since been discharged.
Irish President Catherine Connolly was among the mourners at Chloe’s funeral, the Irish Independent reports.
The gifts representing Chloe’s life included a family and graduation photo, car keys, a photo of Chloe and Alan, a cowboy hat, Chloe’s passport, an Ó Fiaich Institute top, a hairdressing tunic and a birdhouse.
Chloe’s brother Aaron paid tribute during the mass, saying: “You chase travel, the way you chase happiness, eagerly and freely, as if adventure were a friend calling your name.
“You left echoes in places you’ve never been to, empty chairs, unfinished plans, plans that still reach for you without thinking, but you also went to light, and the laughter you gave so easily, and the way you made others feel seen in the warmth that has outlived the moment you are taken.
“We carry you forward, not as a shadow of loss, but it’s quiet truth that life, even a short one, can be bright enough to change the people who loved you.”
At a later service for Mr Duffy, Father Ben Hughes told mourners that he would remain “forever 21”.
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