Girlfriend of man killed during Storm Eowyn said he was ‘the love of my life'
Kacper Dudek, 20, was killed when a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal as the record winds swept across Ireland.
He was driving home from work when the incident took place at around 5.30am on Friday January 24 before a Status Red warning came into effect in Co Donegal at 7am.
He will be remembered as a young man full of joy, passion and love for others
Fr Ignacy Saniuta
He had been on the phone to his father minutes beforehand after coming across a fallen tree.
At his funeral mass at St Patrick's Church on Thursday, students from Holy Cross College in Strabane, Co Tyrone, which Mr Dudek had attended, performed a guard of honour as his coffin was carried into the church.
Fr Ignacy Saniuta, a priest of Polish heritage in the Derry Diocese, told the congregation that Mr Dudek's death had left 'a deep void in our hearts' and was 'a great loss'.
'He will be remembered as a young man full of joy, passion and love for others. Kacper was a loving son, brother, boyfriend and friend who knew how to share love, kindness and warmth with those he cared about,' Fr Saniuta said.
He is survived by his father Artur and mother Katarzyna, younger brother Karol, younger sister Weronika, and girlfriend Molly, who was described as 'the most important love in his life'.
A love letter Molly had sent to Mr Dudek was read to the congregation during the mass.
'I am content knowing I've met the love of my life, the man I'm going to marry and have our babies with, and grow old. Both of us will go grey, old, wrinkly and flabby, we will have races in our wheelchairs and be rude to people and get away with it,' it read.
'You make me the happiest girl alive, and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.
'I promise I will always be with you and if I had my way, I'd live in your pocket so I could be with you at all times. I'm so privileged to call you my boyfriend. You always make me feel like prettiest girl alive. You deserve the world.'
Mr Dudek, who was born in Poland and moved to Lifford with his family when he was two and a half years old, was described as proud of his heritage at the funeral mass, which was delivered in English and Polish.
'He was Polish, interested in the history of Poland and proud of who he was,' Fr Saniuta said.
'Kacper was full of energy, passion and joy. He knew how to enjoy life, and was not afraid to be himself, sometimes breaking the rules and never ashamed to be different.'
The priest added: 'Why did such a young person with so much life ahead of him have to leave in such a tragic way? We do not know the answers to these questions.'
Among the symbols brought to the altar were a Barcelona football shirt, an aftershave collection and a teddy.
His favourite films, which included The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, were described as not simply entertainment to Mr Dudek, 'but sources of inspiration and adventure'.
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