Mourners packed the streets of Belfast to pay tribute to a beauty technician who died in a nightclub, with her friends saying ‘the heavens are in tears’.
Police inquiries are continuing into the death of Chloe Ferris, who would have turned 25 this week, after she died in the Lux nightclub in the early hours of Sunday.
Two men in their 20s had been arrested and questioned on suspicion of drug-related offences before being released on police bail for further inquiries.
Chloe’s funeral service took place in the capital on Thursday and crowds lined the streets on the Falls Road in the heavy rain before heading inside St Paul’s Church.
Fr Darren Brennan read a statement from her parents, who wished their daughter a happy birthday and described her as a ‘beautiful, special, vibrant, blossoming young woman’.
Welcoming Ms Ferris’s loved ones to the service, Fr Brennan said: ‘None of us would wish to be here, in fact, we shouldn’t be here, but we are here.
‘And it’s like even the heavens are in tears as we bring the remains of Chloe Ferris, a beautiful, special, vibrant, blossoming young woman, to offer this mass for the repose of her soul.’
Reading words written by Ms Ferris’s mother Sharon and father Declan, Fr Brennan said the love she was shown ‘was so great, she had loads to spare’.
Mourners packed the streets of Belfast to pay tribute to Chloe Ferris after she died in a nightclub in the early hours of Sunday
Chloe’s friends paid tribute to the beauty technician, saying: ‘The heavens are in tears’
Crowds lined the streets on the Falls Road in the heavy rain before heading inside St Paul’s Church
Chloe’s white coffin bore pink flowers, with some mourners wearing pink bows in their hair.
Her coffin was carried by a group of her friends known as the ‘sister squad’.
Fr Brennan continued: ‘So in her short life, she did indeed share that love. She was so generous with it to all her friends and the people she met throughout her life.’
The priest said Ms Ferris ‘loved her holidays’ and was ‘so proud’ of her beauty business.
‘She loved holidaying and she never blooming stopped holidaying,’ he told mourners.
‘Holidaying from America, touring with Kathleen, Laura and Nicole, to partying in Ibiza with the sisters, yes Chloe loved a party or two.
‘Chloe joined a cross-community group, RCity, which had a great programme running missions to Africa, helping the children of Blanco. RCity not only had a great influence in Chloe’s attitude to life, but also a desire to see more of what our world has to offer.
‘But all this travelling, partying, had to be paid for, and dad’s pockets were only so deep, therefore Chloe’s little business had to flourish. And indeed it did. It flourished, and it flourished, and that was something she was so proud of, and not only her.
Chloe was described as ‘beautiful, special, vibrant’
Police inquiries are continuing into the death of Chloe, who would have turned 25 this week, after she died in the Lux nightclub in the early hours of Sunday
Chloe’s coffin is carried by a group of her friends
The hearse carrying the coffin of Chloe arrives at the church for her funeral
The coffin is carried out of the hearse in the rain and carried into the church
The parents of Chloe Ferris, Declan and Sharon, after their daughter’s funeral mass
Chloe’s white coffin bore pink flowers, with some mourners wearing pink bows in their hair
Mourners packed the streets of Belfast to pay tribute to a beauty technician
Fr Darren Brennan read a statement from her parents (pictured with their arms around each other), who wished their daughter a happy birthday and described her as a ‘beautiful, special, vibrant, blossoming young woman’
A photo of Chloe is held by her cousin
Chloe’s funeral service took place in the capital on Thursday
Staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, which overlooks St Paul’s Church
Fr Brennan said Ms Ferris’s ‘best client of all for therapy and stories’ was her brother Christopher, and the pair shared an ‘immeasurable’ love for each other
The priest said Ms Ferris ‘loved her holidays’ and was ‘so proud’ of her beauty business
The funeral took place as police inquiries are continuing into the death
Reading words written by Ms Ferris’s mother Sharon and father Declan, Fr Brennan said the love she was shown ‘was so great, she had loads to spare’
‘We actually think she named it wrong as Chloe’s Beauty. It should have been Agony Aunt Chloe’s Therapy, for she has listened to all her clients’ stories and problems all day long. And not only did she never say a bad word about them, she just loved them all.’
Fr Brennan said Ms Ferris’s ‘best client of all for therapy and stories’ was her brother Christopher, and the pair shared an ‘immeasurable’ love for each other.
Her parent’s statement concluded: ‘PS, how could we forget, happy 25th birthday. Chloe girl, we love you.’
Fr Brennan asked: ‘What could you add to those beautiful words?
‘Of course, it didn’t come close to summing up Chloe’s life. As short as it might have been, it has been absolutely filled to the brim with activity, with using her gifts, her talents, and sharing them generously with everyone she met.
‘But above all, it’s been filled with love. Love is the word that just kept coming out of those pages.’