Church 'filled with grief' in service for mum and children killed in shooting
Crowds of mourners lined the streets of a Northern Irish village today as they tearfully bid farewell to a mum and her two children who died in an "unspeakable" tragedy that has shaken the community "to its core."
Vanessa Whyte, 45, and her children James Rutledge, 14, and Sara Rutledge, 13, died in a firearms incident at a property in Drummeer Road, Maguiresbridge, on July 30. On Monday, a person suspected of shooting the family, Ian Rutledge, 43, had also died in what the police suspect was a triple murder suicide. The agricultural contractor is understood to be the only suspect in the shooting of his family.
Large crowds, including from local GAA clubs, lined the streets outside St Mary's Church on Wednesday morning for a Service of Removal ahead of their funeral in Co Clare on Saturday. Northern Ireland's First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, attended the service, along with former first minister Baroness Arlene Foster, Environment Minister Andrew Muir and Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen.
The three coffins arrived shortly after 11am and were brought to the front of the church as the hymn Abide By Me was sung. Father Raymond Donnelly, who led the service, said people had gathered in a church "filled with grief".
The deaths of Vanessa, James and Sara left a "heaviness in the air" he added, before offering prayers, love and "presence" for the grieving families in a moving homily. Father Donnelly said: "There is a heaviness in the air - a silence within our hearts - that speaks volumes."
The tragedy we have endured has shaken this community, and our country, to its core. We are left shocked, grieving, heartbroken, searching for meaning: grappling with questions too deep for words.
"The loss of a Vanessa and her two beautiful children, James and Sara - lives taken in such an unspeakable way - is more than any heart should bear.
A woman full of kindness and warmth, a friend to so many here. And her children, so young, so vibrant, so full of promise. Their laughter rang through school corridors, through playing fields, especially on the GAA pitch, where they thrived with passion and joy. That zest for life, their infectious energy, their open smiles."
The three wooden coffins were then carried side by side along the main road in the village as hundreds followed and many more lined the street.
The bodies will be taken to Barefield in Co Clare, where Ms Whyte was originally from, ahead of their funeral Mass on Saturday.
The three will then be buried together in Templemaley Cemetery.
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