{"id":623197,"date":"2026-09-13T07:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T07:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623197\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T07:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T07:44:16","slug":"parents-full-of-fear-funeral-of-teenager-killed-in-co-clare-hit-and-run-told-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623197\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents \u2018full of fear\u2019, funeral of teenager killed in Co Clare hit-and-run told \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A priest told the funeral of a teenager killed in a hit-and-run in Co Clare<\/a> that parents and grandparents in Ireland are \u201cfull of fear\u201d of the society their children and grandchildren are growing up in.<\/p>\n

Fr Richard Davern was addressing mourners attending the funeral of 17-year-old Bryan Lowe, who was knocked down by a car and dragged under the vehicle, which did not remain at the scene.<\/p>\n

Questioning the apparent lack of respect for life in modern society, Davern told mourners at the boy\u2019s funeral: \u201cSo many parents today are full of fear of the world that their children and indeed their grandchildren are growing up in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is happening in our society, where do we turn, how can some sections of society have lost all connection to God?\u201d <\/p>\n

The priest asked journalists to \u201cturn the mirror\u201d on Irish society \u201cand write about the deeper questions that are in every heart and mind of the people in this church today\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bryan Lowe was riding an e-bike when he was struck and killed by a vehicle on a rural road at Cottage Cross, Clonlara in southeast Clare, on Friday September 4th.<\/p>\n

The alarm was raised at around 11pm, but the boy was declared dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

Garda\u00ed<\/a> said they were \u201cfollowing a definite line of inquiry\u201d, and it is understood they are examining whether the boy was deliberately run down.<\/p>\n

Investigators said they wanted to speak to the driver and occupants of a silver\/gold-coloured Skoda Octavia, registration 05-C-5982, which was seen driving in the Clonlara and Castleconnell area on the night in question and at some point on the following morning.<\/p>\n

Garda\u00ed released a photograph of the Skoda, which it is understood they recovered partially burned at Castleconnell, Co Limerick, on Saturday September 5th.<\/p>\n

Bryan Lowe was a sixth-year student at St Munchin\u2019s College, Corbally, Limerick, who was \u201cdetermined\u201d to complete his Leaving Certificate exams in September, Davern said.<\/p>\n

But \u201cschool was not his thing, it was with his hands that he was going to carve out a career for himself\u201d in the construction sector, he said.<\/p>\n

The priest said the boy\u2019s family and all who knew him were \u201cdevastated, traumatised and feeling utterly lost\u201d.<\/p>\n

Davern asked the family to \u201ctrust the authorities and give them the time needed\u201d … \u201cthey will see to it that the truth and justice around Bryan\u2019s death will be established.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s death was \u201ctragically cruel\u201d, Davern said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018Heartbroken and traumatised\u2019: Family of boy (16) killed in Cloonlara hit-and-run speak outOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

A local singer performed the Joan Baez song All My Trials.<\/p>\n

Students from St Munchin\u2019s College performed guards of honour outside St Nicholas\u2019s Church, Westbury, Corbally, as Bryan Lowe\u2019s blue-coloured coffin was shouldered in and out by members of his family, including his mother, Crystal, and his father, Brian.<\/p>\n

Crystal Lowe thanked St Munchin\u2019s College and her son\u2019s fellow students for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cBryan was a great boy, and the boys in St Munchin\u2019s have done him so so proud,\u201d she said. \u201cI can hold up my head high knowing he is a boy I reared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing her son\u2019s classmates and friends, Lowe said: \u201cI know it\u2019s also very hard for you all. If I can ask you for anything, it is that you just remember Bryan in the divine mercy. Thank you very much and God bless.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s family prayed for the first responders who attended the scene and the garda\u00ed working on the case. <\/p>\n

A cousin told mourners: \u201cHe had a hunger to work, a hunger to learn, a hunger to improve himself, a hunger to be better, and while he had strength and a great work ethic, he had a gentleness about him, a good heart, and he cared about people.<\/p>\n

\u201cBryan was a kind and caring young man, he was also somebody you could count on, somebody who could have a laugh with you, stand beside you, and somebody who made life a bit brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

A guard of honour was also performed by local motorcycle clubs, which led and escorted the funeral cort\u00e8ge from the church to Doonass cemetery, where Bryan Lowe was laid to rest.<\/p>\n

Garda\u00ed said their investigation is \u201congoing\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A priest told the funeral of a teenager killed in a hit-and-run in Co Clare that parents and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,15469,61,60,1396,43],"class_list":["post-623197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-clare","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-limerick","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623197","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=623197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}