'So funny, with a great imagination': Funeral mass held for teenager who died in Tipperary crash
A LEAVING CERTIFICATE student who died after her car hit a wall and entered the river in South Tipperary was voted the 'smiliest person' in her year and had already bought her dress for her Debs ball, her requiem mass has heard.
Brónagh English died when her car left the left the road at Kilaldry Bridge in Kilmoyler, Cahir and entered the River Aherlow last Thursday at around 10pm. Her body was recovered by a Garda sub aqua team last Friday morning.
Brónagh's coffin was brought in to St John the Baptist Church in Powerstown, Clonmel for her requiem mass today to the sound of a soloist singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' and 'Smile'
Her father Michael said that when Brónagh left the house last Thursday evening she told her mother Danielle of her plan to return home in about twenty minutes.
'And that was the end of our Bro. She was a wonderful child. We loved her to pieces as parents. Myself and Danielle noticed something special about her in the early days. We thought there was something wrong with her as she was far too good.'
'We never had terrible twos. We thought 'she is going to be a terrible teenager surely' and then she got to 13 or 14 and we thought maybe she was a late developer in teens and still no problem.'
'She had something. She lived in the now. She lived in the present. She was fun right now. She was in the moment.'
Michael said six months ago he and Danielle read a statistic that by the time your child is 18, you will have spent 90 percent of the time you will ever have with them.
'The point of it was that we only had 10 percent more physical team with Brónagh. We were devastated on that day when we read that stat that after 18 kids move on. We would love to have that time back.'
Advertisement
Michael thanked Brónagh's close knit group of friends, who are nicknamed 'The Rats,' for all the joy they had brought to their home over the years.
He was joined on the altar by his wife Danielle who thanked the emergency services for being 'beyond amazing' in the aftermath of the accident.
Brónagh's sister Mia said that her sibling was her best friend.
'Brónagh was so funny with a great imagination. Chinese on a Friday with some weird food combinations. Having Brónagh my sister was really the dream. We will always carry you with us day by day and mile by mile.'
Symbols of her life brought to the altar included photographs of Brónagh and her beloved friends and family, her dancing shoes representing her flair for ballroom dancing, a fishing rod to represent a family holiday where she caught 13 fish in the Amazon Rainforest, and her Rockwell College school jumper.
Nine priests celebrated the mass. These included priests from Rockwell College and her grand uncle Fr Michael English.
Chief celebrant at the mass Fr Peter Ahearne thanked Taoiseach Micheal Martin for sending an aide de camp to represent him at the mass.
He said that Brónagh 'radiated friendship' and lit up every room she entered.
'Brónagh for her family was a sacred gift. She radiated joy. Brónagh lived a full life. She was involved in sport, music and dancing. She gave her time to her friends,' said Ahearne.
Her two brothers Mikey and David were among those who recited Prayers of the Faithful. Brónagh is survived by her parents Michael and Danielle, her siblings Mia, Mikey and David, her grandparents Greta and Donnie Ormonde and Carmel English, her aunts and uncles, her '21 adored first cousins', extended family and a wide circle of friends. She was recently predeceased by her grandfather John English.
Brónagh lay in repose at her family home in Anner Park House, Waterford Road in Clonmel, Co Tipperary yesterday before being brought to the church for noon requiem mass today. At the end of the mass the coffin was taken from the church to the adjoining cemetery for burial.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
18 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Teachers praise Leaving Cert geography, but slam Junior Cycle history as 'illogical and unfair'
This year's Leaving Certificate geography exam contained no major surprises, offering students a "lovely" and well-balanced paper with reliable and current questions. However, the unfamiliar 'donut' graph format may have caused some stress for students, teachers who reviewed the paper said. On the third day of the 2025 State exams, Leaving Cert students sat geography on Friday morning, while Junior Cycle students took their history paper. The Junior Cycle history exam once again faced criticism from teachers, who say the continued absence of mark allocations and limited time remain significant challenges for students. The 2025 Ordinary Level geography paper was described as fair by Laura O'Sullivan, a teacher at Bantry Community School and secretary of the Cork Geography Teachers' Association. 'The short questions were really well scaffolded with images, which is really good for candidates, and the longer questions were very accessible," Ms O'Sullivan said. At Higher Level, she added, the short answer section was more balanced than in previous years. 'In previous years, they were looked for loads of answers for small marks whereas I think this year they were more realistic about what can be achieved in a short amount of time which is fantastic.' One graph question may have presented difficulty for some Higher Level students, she noted. 'It was just a different kind of graph than they would have come across before.' 'Your more able candidates would have been fine but the weaker candidates might struggle with it.' 'They just won't be used to having seen it, but if they treat it like they treat other graphs, and don't panic, then they'll be fine.' Students also needed to read a question on rock types and landscapes carefully, she said, as it required more than one example. 'If they only did one rock type, and one landscape, then they'll probably only get half the marks.' Overall, she described the paper as very fair and said she was 'very happy' with its structure and content. Margaret Fitzpatrick, a teacher at Midleton CBS, also praised the 2025 geography paper. 'The biggest challenge was actually completing it because they would have so much knowledge." "It was a lovely, lovely paper with each section nicer than the other.' 'If students had worked off their exam papers, they should have been well able for it. The only challenge would be getting it done in the time allowed.' Junior Cycle Meanwhile, Junior Cycle history continues to pose a major challenge, according to Studyclix subject expert Jamie Dockery, a teacher at Tyndall College, Carlow. Students are expected to answer eight questions across a wide range of topics within a strict two-hour limit. 'Not accounting for the time needed to pre-read the paper and review answers, practices teachers actively encourage, students are left with roughly fifteen minutes per question." "That's a demanding pace, even for the most capable candidates." 'This year, the difficulty was compounded yet again by the continued absence of mark allocations on the exam paper. Each of the eight questions carried different marks, yet students were given no indication of this during the exam." Mr Dockery added that under time pressure, students should have the option to prioritise higher-value questions. "A basic exam strategy they are taught in every other subject. Denying them this opportunity in History is both illogical and unfair," he added. 'It risks disadvantaging students in their results and may even deter some from continuing with History into Senior Cycle." Read More Junior Cycle English short story question sparks criticism from teachers
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Everyone warned me to not buy a sofa from Temu but I did it anyway – it was £223, came in 2 days & got 8/10 for comfort
IT'S known for its mega fashion range and wallet-friendly bargains ideal as last-minute gift ideas. However, the China-based marketplace 2 The thrifty shopper managed to bag a gorgeous sofa from Temu for less than £300 Credit: TIKTOK/@ecomkatie 2 Similar furniture will set you back an eye-watering £700 elsewhere Credit: TIKTOK/@ecomkatie But this is exactly what one online shopper, Katie Louise, from Manchester, did, taking a huge risk and ordering a gorgeous sofa from the cut-price website. She recently took to TikTok to show off the stunning product, which cost her a mere £233.87, after being advised to not purchase a couch from the site. Temu's version comes in hundreds of pounds cheaper than similar furniture from other retailers, such as Sofa Club where it will set you back an eye-watering £699. Meanwhile, READ MORE ON HOMES Katie, who recently moved into a While Katie admitted that at first, she was ''filled with immediate regret'', she later learnt there was no need to worry. The delivery took a mere two days and after putting it all together, the online shopper gave it a good steam, before giving the sofa the comfort test. Raving about the wallet-friendly purchase, Katie scored the sofa 8/10 for comfort and a whopping 10/10 for overall value. Most read in Fabulous She wrote in the caption of the video: ''Apartment diy diaries continue with my £233.87 corner sofa from Temu. ''Genuinely surprised at the value and it arrived in 2 working days!'' I used cheap Temu tiles to get a herringbone bathroom while saving for a reno - they're good as new 4 months later 'Woah, actually not bad' Almost 8,000 viewers gave it a like, as others flooded to comments. Why is Temu so cheap? TEMU exploded onto the scene in late 2022, with people all over social media raving about the low prices. The company is a Chinese-owned digital marketplace - essentially an online shopping app where people are connected to the retailer directly while the app takes care of the shipping element. The frenzy over the app is not completely unfounded either as it offers a wide variety of products, including fashion, make-up, electronics and furniture. The loophole is called the de minimis exception and it means they can ship goods valued up to $800 (£643) to the US without it being inspected or taxed by US customs. Temu connects customers directly to manufacturers and only manages how the items are sent to customers. It means Chinese vendors can essentially sell their products directly to customers and ship it without building a network of warehouses across the globe. By doing this, they cut down on huge costs and ensure the product itself isn't marked up extra. While many of the products seen on the Temu app are from brands with extensive, original collections, many more are dupes of designer brands. One person couldn't believe the speedy delivery, as they wrote: ''Wait 2 days??? that's impressive.'' Another chuckled: ''When u brought out the first box I thought that was it and it was one of them tiny fake ones.'' Someone else chimed in: ''woah actually not bad.'' ''Why do I kinda want to do this,'' penned another. Katie is not the only person who's recently scored mega luck with furniture from Temu, as one woman managed to bag Another bargain hunter now has
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Man caught with child sex abuse and anime images on hard-drive avoids jail
A Co Donegal man caught with child sex abuse and anime images on a hard-drive has avoided jail. John Sweeney (60) appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to possession of the images when his house at Dore, Bunbeg was raided by gardaí on July 24th, 2019. Det Garda Enda Jennings and Michelle Kelly were acting on information forwarded by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. It followed information they received that a user had uploaded child pornography from an internet account traced to Sweeney. READ MORE Gardaí visited the house and seized three mobile phones and a hard-drive. All the images, including a total of 139 child abuse images and 94 anime images – a style of Japanese film and TV animation – were found on the hard-drive. He was arrested and taken to Milford Garda station where he co-operated and told gardaí he had been going through a difficult time and was drinking heavily. The court heard Sweeney lived alone and had no previous convictions. However, because of a backlog in investigating such cases around the country at the time, it wasn't until November 2023 that a plea could be made. A number for the One in Four counselling service was given to Sweeney and he went about getting counselling. Barrister for the accused, Patricia McLaughlin, SC McLaughlin said it was not the case that her client shared any of the images and had no great sophisticated knowledge of computers but was accessing adult pornography over a period of time. Child pornography then began to pop up and he developed some curiosity on this, saying her client had an 'unsophisticated fall' into it. A probation service report dated May 29th, 2025, said he was at a low risk of reoffending and noted he has expressed remorse and is aware the images are wrong and was happy to go under the supervision of the service. Ms McLaughlin asked Judge John Aylmer to consider dealing with the offence by way of a non-custodial sentence considering the overall amount of images, the amount of time the accused man had them in his possession – estimated to be two months – and how he came upon the images. Judge Aylmer said on the very early plea and the number of images involved, he placed the offence at the lower end of the scale and one which merited a sentence of two years before mitigation. In mitigation, the judge said Sweeney had no previous convictions, had co-operated fully with gardaí and had entered an early plea. He reduced the sentence to 18 months in prison and accepted the advance by Ms McLaughlin, that there were similarities to another case, the McGinty case. He agreed that this was one of those unusual cases where the court can suspend the entirety of the 18-month sentence and ordered Sweeney to go under the supervision of the probation services.
