Mary Holt, who was killed in an arson attack in Edenderry along with her grand-nephew Tadgh Farrell last week, has been remembered at her funeral mass as someone who "showed up for others when they were most in need".
Tadgh and Ms Holt were in a front room downstairs on 6 December in a house in Castleview Park when a suspected petrol bomb was thrown through the window.
Mourners who gathered at the funeral mass at St Mary's Church, Edenderry, this afternoon heard how Ms Holt's death leaves an empty place - in her family, among her friends, in Ofalia House where she worked, and "in the lives of those she cared for".
Parish Priest in Edenderry Fr Gregory Corcoran told mourners that Ms Holt's life was one that was quietly shaped by care.
She started working in the old hospital at the age of 15.
"Never one for the spotlight, but at the bedside - helping, comforting, noticing the small things. That kind of work tells us a lot about a person.
"You don't become a carer unless you have patience, compassion, and a generous heart," he said.
Mourners heard how "day after day, year after year she showed up for others when they were most in need".
Fr Corcoran said grief today may feel mixed with shock, anger, confusion, and deep sadness.
"That too is part of love. We grieve because Mary mattered," he said.
Those present also heard that next March, Mary was planning on going on a religious pilgrimage to Međugorje.
Fr Corcoran said our faith does not pretend that life or death is easy, adding that it does not give us an easy pass in life but it does "promise that death is not the end".
"We believe in a God who brings life out of death, light out of darkness, and hope even from tragedy. We entrust Mary now into God's care the same care she so often gave to others.
"May she rest from her labours. May she know peace after pain," Fr Corcoran added.
"And may those who mourn her today be held gently, one day at a time.
Ms Holt's mass was followed by burial in St Mary's cemetery.
