The mother of one of the teenagers who died in a head-on collision on the M9 motorway more than a week ago has apologised to the families who were injured in the incident.
An appeal was also made at the funeral mass for 17-year-old Jack Kennedy this morning for his friends and other young people to stop engaging in dangerous driving behaviour.
His funeral mass took place in St Michael’s Church in Athy, Co Kildare this morning.
Speaking before the mass began, Jack’s mother Sarah told mourners that five young boys “made a bad choice” and paid the “ultimate price”.
She said: “We as a family want to send our deepest condolences to Joey, Alex, Jeremy and Kamil’s families. Five young boys made a bad choice. Five young boys paid the ultimate price. Five families lost their babies. Five families got a life sentence. May all rest in peace.
“Secondly, we all want to send our deepest, heartfelt apologies to the families who were injured. You are all in our thoughts and our prayers. We pray to God that you all make a full recovery. And once again, we are sorry.”
She went on to say: “We, as a family, would like to thank our families, friends, neighbours, and even strangers for your kindness, empathy, support, and love.
“Thank you so, so much. I will be ever grateful. Lastly, this is to my little soldier, Jack. I will never forget your kindness, your smile, your love, your handsomeness, and your funniness. You were my world, and you still are.”
‘Anger a dangerous emotion’
Canon Frank McEvoy, who is a Team Assistant in the Parish of Athy, began his homily by saying “words can hurt, and words have the power to heal.” He added that this was also true of our actions.
He said: “In all those situations, we are responsible for the words that we use, and above all, we are responsible for the actions that we take every morning.”
In the aftermath of the collision, Canon McEvoy said he asked people in the parish to pray for those who had died and also for people to pray for the innocent victims who had been injured.
He said: “The feeling around the parish was one of shock, confusion, disbelief, and above all, anger.
“Anger is a very dangerous emotion, and when it starts to curdle and get going in the community, anything can happen.
“When you watch social media and you watch the responses. When you hear what people are saying. That is the result of bad actions, and very often, then, in all of that, there is so much hurt created for family. Sarah put it so well. She doesn’t wish any of you to walk in her shoes to have to bury her son.”
Canon McEvoy went on to make a direct appeal to Jack Kennedy’s friends and other young people who are engaged in dangerous driving behaviour.
He said: “There is something I want to say, and especially to Jack’s friends, and it is this: if you are considering continuing this criminal activity, will you please stop? Just one word: stop.
“Because this is the end of it. This is a family broken, and the consequences of that will happen to you too, for you yourself, for your families, the communities in which you live in, and then you will have the innocent victims, like the people who are in hospital trying to recover. There is no need for it. So again, I say to you, please, please, please, stop.”
He added: “We are all better than this. And so today, as we come to support the family and pray for them, and remembering very especially the victims of this accident, those who are in hospital, let us also continue to pray for and with each other, and to ask God’s support for all of us.”
At the beginning of the mass, a number of gifts were brought to the altar by members of Jack Kennedy’s family to remember his love for his hobbies and interests.
These included a fishing rod, a model car, a dog collar for his love of animals, a number of video games and a teddy.
His cremation takes place privately this afternoon.
The funerals have already taken place of 15-year-old Joe Carthy, 17-year-old Alex McCarthy, 18-year-old Jeremy O’Brien and 17-year-old Kamil Pustkowski.
The five teenagers died after the car they were travelling in was driven down the wrong side of the M9 motorway in the early hours of Sunday 16 August.
Four people – three sisters and a seven-year-old boy – in the other car were either critically or seriously injured in the collision. They remain in hospital as they continue to recover from their injuries.