{"id":553687,"date":"2026-07-17T02:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T02:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/553687\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T02:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T02:09:09","slug":"teenager-who-drowned-in-lough-ree-was-goodness-personified-funeral-mass-told-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/553687\/","title":{"rendered":"Teenager who drowned in Lough Ree \u2018was goodness personified\u2019, funeral Mass told \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Greene, the Athlone teenager who drowned in Lough Ree last Saturday<\/a>, was remembered as \u201ca great young lad\u201d at his funeral in Coosan, Co Westmeath<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chief celebrant Fr Padraig Kelliher described the 15-year-old as a great captain in sport and a kind, respectful and generous young man who helped others, especially his mother, Yvonne.<\/p>\n

Martin was only six weeks old when his father John died, Kelliher told mourners at Our Lady Queen of Peace, noting that this led to a very strong bond between mother and son.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remember Martin and remember his goodness. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we have beautiful words describing Martin, written by those who have known him and loved him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd those words are kind, good mannered, respectful, a great captain, a person who was generous, who helped others, who helped his family, who helped his mother, who always showed a quiet word, a good sense of humour,\u201d Kelliher said. <\/p>\n

\"TributesTributes to Martin Greene adorned the hearse. Photograph: Colin Keegan\/Collins <\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew how to laugh. He knew how to enjoy life. He knew how to be happy. And so, he still stood out … because in the midst of a world that can at times be very noisy and very loud, he was quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis goodness shone out in the midst of all of the ups and downs of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mourners were told that unlike many other young people Martin did not defer or postpone, when asked to do something, he responded immediately. <\/p>\n

\u201cMartin would do it quietly. And he didn\u2019t do it begrudgingly. He was his own person. He did it happily.\u201d<\/p>\n

At school, Martin had been loved by his teachers, which was evident in the many \u201cheartfelt\u201d messages posted in his remembrance, said the priest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever he went, he drew love out of people. And they were drawn because he was his own man, a young little lad with a lovely smile, who got involved, who helped out, and was goodness personified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin was also remembered at the service for his love of sport \u2013 he played soccer with St Francis FC and Gaelic with Athlone GAA. It was not uncommon for him to play two games in a day such was his zest for life, mourners heard. He also taught football to younger children in his neighbourhood. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe remains leave the church after the funeral Mass. Photograph: Colin Keegan\/Collins <\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s passion for sport was reflected in this Liverpool FC<\/a> emblazoned coffin, along with the numerous red and white floral tributes. <\/p>\n

Mourners had been asked to wear red and white in his memory and many did so, including his pallbearers.<\/p>\n

The teenager also shared his family\u2019s devotion to St Philomena, said Kelliher. In the midst of a changing world, he was happy to wear a red and white cord bracelet on his wrist. <\/p>\n

\u201cMartin was his own man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin was close to his young nephew John, aged five years and was due to stand as godfather for his baby niece Savannah in the near future.<\/p>\n

Kelliher said it was important to remember how happy Martin had been last Saturday, he had told his mother he loved her as he went out the door to join his friends, he had been with people he loved and had been having a good time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remember Martin. We\u2019re happy this day for the goodness he brought, for the love he shared and for the leadership he\u2019s given. And so especially to his family and to all the young people who are here in this church this day, I say you can learn from Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp others, get involved, and keep smiling. And in that way you will pay your true respect and give great honour to Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Liverpool FC anthem You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone was sung as the coffin entered the church and again after communion. <\/p>\n

Following the funeral Mass, family members expressed their thanks to An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na, the RNLI, Irish Coastguard, emergency services and the sports clubs to which he belonged, who supported them in recent days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Martin Greene, the Athlone teenager who drowned in Lough Ree last Saturday, was remembered as \u201ca great young…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,61,60,1547,43,59],"class_list":["post-553687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-news","tag-westmeath"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}