'Death cannot be allowed to define Ciaran's life'

Editorial Department • Published 29 Jul 2010 16:00

See also:

THE funeral of Ciaran Woods who was fatally stabbed last week took place on Friday.

It was held at the Holy Cross Church in Lisnaskea and was conducted by Father Ian Fee.

Mr. Woods, a father of one, was stabbed following an altercation at a house in Tempo.

At his funeral, mourners were told by Father Fee not to allow the family man's tragic death to define his life.

"It is so difficult to move our minds and hearts on from the events of Tuesday morning, such was the nature of those events. But we cannot, we must not allow this to be our lingering thought when Ciaran comes to mind. We cannot allow his death to define his life. That ultimately would be a tragedy second only to his death," he said.

Father Fee said good, heart-warming memories and stories of Ciaran were "not hard to come by", even in the devastation and shock of his death.

"Laughter was never far away as one story after another was recalled, by family and friends, painting a picture of a young man with immense good humour, a unswerving loyalty and dedication to friends and family, an unfailing generous nature that perhaps, at times would leave him in need but his first thought was never for himself. He had a love of life and a love of people, he'd always be on the lookout for anyone needing a helping hand," he said.

"Ciaran, like 500 million others, had signed up to Facebook," explained Father Fee, "I don't know if he was ever really bitten by the Facebook bug. His posts weren't all that frequent but he found time to put up links to videos by Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi. Other than that there were two things that his Facebook page was divided between; football and his beloved daughter Erin. The photograph of Ciaran that we have sadly come to know over these last days from the newspapers was taken from his Facebook page and there we see the full picture; Ciaran and Erin, smiling together in happier days. He was entirely devoted to Erin, the love of his life. Her loss, along with that of Ciaran's parents Briege and John and his brothers and sisters touches the hearts of all here today and of so many others who join us in prayer this morning from far and near," he said.

Father Fee explained how he had been speaking to a woman recently who told him she wasn't afraid of dying.

"She accepts it as a part of life but that the one thing that does frighten her, is the way in which she might die. Hoping, as I'm sure we all do for a peaceful and painless death but knowing that, ultimately we have no control over this. We might believe that the way we die should reflect the life we've lived; a good and loving person granted a death in which they are surrounded by love and affection. Sadly, we know this is rarely the case," he said.

As well as his daughter Erin, Mr. Woods leaves behind his parents Briege and John. His sisters, Lorna, Shauna, Claire, Yvonne, Donna and Elaine and his brothers Martin, Brian and John. He is predeceased by his brother Oliver who was killed in a tragic road accident in 1995.

Father Fee said: "We must as Christians, consider those whose suffering as a result of Tuesday morning's events, have brought great sadness and shame. People who are innocent but who feel overwhelming guilt. It is our duty to pray for all who have suffered as a result of Ciaran's death and pray for peace in our hearts and between our hearts. The prayer that joins us all together here today is a prayer for peace, a prayer for strength. For consolation but, above all, for hope. We pray for peace of heart and mind, to move beyond the understandable anger of this moment to a place where Ciaran's good nature affects our own nature.

"We pray for strength and consolation, most especially for Ciaran's family. As our loved ones disappear from our sight, they move more fully into the sight, the presence and the loving embrace of God. The candle light of Ciaran's life has been extinguished, not because his life has ended but because, for Ciaran, as for Oliver and all our faithful departed, the dawn has come, and in that light, we hope to join them when our journey is ended," he said.

Many mourners at Mr. Woods' funeral wore the shirt of the Lisnaskea Emmetts, his beloved GAA team.

But perhaps the most poignant sight was of his seven-year-old daughter Erin clutching a GAA ball behind his coffin.

In a moving interview with The Impartial Reporter last week, Mr. Woods' former partner Bronagh McDonnell paid tribute to her daughter's "wonderful" father.

"He was a brilliant father, a really brilliant father. He looked after the child so well. He was very good natured and had a heart of gold. He always looked out for everybody else, never mind himself. He was very caring and loving. Erin was number one priority and she was always with him. Me and my daddy, that's all she would ever say. She always said that first when she'd go to speak. You text my daddy, she'd say. You tell my daddy to phone me. Every weekend she'd ask me to get her daddy round so she could go away with him. She loved him and he loved her," she said.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 29 Jul 10

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.