{"id":632485,"date":"2026-09-22T13:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632485\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T13:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:56:10","slug":"irish-mother-killed-in-australia-left-every-room-brighter-than-she-found-it-funeral-hears-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632485\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish mother killed in Australia \u2018left every room brighter than she found it\u2019, funeral hears \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annmarie O\u2019Reilly, who died in violent circumstances in her home in Australia<\/a>, \u201ccould brighten your day without even trying\u201d and was \u201cso proud\u201d of her sons, mourners were told at her funeral.<\/p>\n

The Kilkenny<\/a> woman (30), a mother of three, was found dead in her house in Ferntree Gully, a suburb of Melbourne, in August.<\/p>\n

Patrick Stokes (45), a Waterford man who had been living in Australia, was arrested in relation to her murder. He was remanded in custody to appear before Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court on February 23rd next year.<\/p>\n

Fr Dan Carroll, who led the funeral service at St John\u2019s Church, Kilkenny, alongside Fr Paul Kasu, said: \u201cWith hearts that are broken, we suffer the pain of losing Annmarie at 30 years of age in a way that none of us can fully understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The priest spoke of the love and pride Annmarie O\u2019Reilly had in her three young sons, Pat, Ned and Tom. <\/p>\n

During the service, symbols of her life and the things she loved were brought to the altar. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe funeral cortege of Annmarie O’Reilly (30) at St John’s Church, Kilkenny on Tuesday. Photograph: Colin Keegan\/Collins <\/p>\n

Her nephew Conor brought up her favourite drink, a can of Red Bull, and her niece Maria carried a bottle of the deceased\u2019s favourite perfume, White Diamonds. <\/p>\n

Her niece Sadie brought up another one of Annmarie O\u2019Reilly\u2019s treasured possessions, a Louis Vuitton bag. <\/p>\n

Brian Roche, principal of St John\u2019s Senior School where many members of the woman\u2019s family attended, did a reading, as did Ann Foley, who taught the deceased at St John of God NS. <\/p>\n

Fr Dan Carroll described the wake on Tuesday as \u201cpowerful\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have travelled from all over to be with the O\u2019Reilly family today. We see many messages of support and consolation on RIP.ie, that tells us the kind of woman Annmarie was. <\/p>\n

\u201cA life does not have to be long and famous to touch a great many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that tributes to the woman \u201ckeep coming back to her three lovely boys, Pat, Ned and Tom\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnnmarie loved them so much, and made sure they were cared for and loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we know, Annmarie was one for the fashion; her White Diamond perfume and Louis Vuitton bag were essential. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also know how pleasant she was to meet. Someone who could brighten your day without even trying. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone leaves a room brighter than they found it, Annmarie did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnnmarieAnnmarie O’Reilly was found dead at her home in the Ferntree Gully Road area of Melbourne, Australia <\/p>\n

Prayers were offered for the woman\u2019s three boys, as well as her parents Ned and Bridget, her grandmother Anne, and her brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n

The priest also called on mourners to keep Annmarie O\u2019Reilly\u2019s memory alive for her three sons. <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir mum loved them more than words can say. They have not lost her love … it goes with them every day, everywhere they go. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must make sure they grow up knowing who their mother was … her kindness, her warmth and the pride she had in them. <\/p>\n

\u201cNed and Bridget, her sisters and brothers, her grandmother Anne and her boys, may goodness and mercy follow you.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen your journey comes, may you find Annmarie waiting for you with wide open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Annmarie O\u2019Reilly, who died in violent circumstances in her home in Australia, \u201ccould brighten your day without even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[986,61,60,12969,43],"class_list":["post-632485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-australia","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kilkenny","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632485","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=632485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}