Mourning family of boy and his two grandparents who died in car crash

‘We will remember young Tom, who endeared himself to his family in three short years’: Mourning family of three-year-old boy and his two grandparents who died in horror Irish car crash gather at funeral also attended by President Michael D Higgins

• Tom, Bridget O’Reilly and their three-year-old grandson Tom were remembered 

Irish president Michael D Higgins is among the mourners at the funeral of three members of the same family who were killed in a road crash Co Tipperary.

The funeral has begun at St John the Baptist church in Cashel of Tom and Bridget O’Reilly and their three-year-old grandson Tom.

Tom’s mother Diane, who was also injured in the crash on Tuesday, arrived at the church wearing a black t-shirt featuring a photograph of her son.

A number of other mourners are also wearing t-shirts featuring photographs of the victims.

Ahead of the service, the three white coffins were brought to the front of the church.

A family has been left shattered by the death of three members in a car crash in Co Tipperary, a priest has told the funeral of Tom and Bridget Reilly and their grandson Tom.

The funeral has begun at St John the Baptist church in Cashel of Tom and Bridget O’Reilly and their three-year-old grandson Tom, pictured here

Thomas O’Reilly, 45 and his wife Bridget O’Reilly, 46, who along with their three-year-old grandson Tom O’Reilly died following a road crash

Family members and mourners walk behind the horse-drawn carriages carrying the coffins of Thomas Reilly, 45, his wife Bridget Reilly, 46, and their three-year-old grandson Tom

President Michael D Higgins arrives for the funerals at St John the Baptist Church in Cashel, Co Tipperary, for Thomas Reilly, 45, his wife Bridget Reilly, 46, and their three-year-old grandson Tom

Father Enda Brady told the funeral at St John the Baptist church in Cashel: ‘Sadness is when we have one coffin and a grieving family in the church.

‘Today’s gathering of three coffins, which includes the remains of a three-year-old, have left a family shattered, a community numbed and people grappling for words.’

There is an individual behind every road death statistic, a priest has told the funeral of Tom and Bridget Reilly and their grandson Tom in Co Tipperary.

The three family members were killed in a single vehicle crash in Cashel on Tuesday.

Father Enda Brady told the funeral at St John the Baptist church: ‘In our times we continue to have counts, statistics and numbers produced every so often. And each year, among these figures, we are given the number of people who die on our roads.

Horse drawn carriages carrying the coffins of Thomas Reilly, 45, his wife Bridget Reilly, 46, and their three-year-old grandson Tom Reilly, arrive at St John the Baptist Church in Cashel, Co Tipperary

Thomas, Bridget and Tom, died in a single-vehicle collision in Cashel on August 29

‘When we hear these, our reaction can be a moment where we say ‘God bless them’, and then move on with our daily lives. But when this awful situation lands on your doorstep, then you know these are not just numbers, there is a face, there is a heart, there is a personality, there is an individual.

‘Unfortunately, Tom and Bridget Reilly, and their grandson Tom, have joined the number for this year.

‘But we don’t gather here today to remember them as a number.’

Three-year-old Tom Reilly will be remembered throughout Ireland as a character with his thumb raised in the air, Father Enda Brady said.

The priest is delivering his homily at the funeral of Tom and Bridget Reilly and their grandson Tom.

He said: ‘Tom and Bridget’s children remember the parents who loved and cared for them and their nephew, who, in three short years, endeared himself to the family.

‘Their parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and extended family remember the people that were Tom and Bridget Reilly – they remember young Tom, the character that will be remembered throughout Ireland with his thumb raised in the air.

‘The way they laughed and cried, the way they interacted, the way they were – these are the traits and qualities that we remember today as we celebrate the funeral mass for a small boy and his grandparents.’

Funerals had taken place on the previous three days in Co Tipperary for the victims of a crash in Clonmel on August 25.

Luke McSweeney, 24, his 18-year-old sister Grace McSweeney and Zoey Coffey and Nicole Murphy, both also aged 18, were killed in the collision as the three teenagers prepared to celebrate getting their Leaving Cert results.

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