Hearts go out to distraught daughter as 'dynamic' Celine buried
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Wednesday December 24 2008
SHE looked a little lost, but then what would you expect? Your heart simply went out to her.
Georgia Lillis-Cawley (16) sat on the front pew of the packed church yesterday afternoon as the dynamism, panache and style of her mother were recalled during a dignified but desperately sad funeral Mass in Howth. In another part of Dublin, her father, Eamonn Lillis, had just been told that he would be spending Christmas in custody charged with Celine Cawley's brutal death.
In the church, heads shook involuntarily as the awfulness of her situation passed through people's minds. Our hearts went out again to the teenager. What else could you do?
"The loss of someone so loved, the death of someone to whom we owe so much, is indeed an extremely distressing and painful and heartbreaking feeling," said Fr Ciaran O'Carroll, a family friend of the Cawleys. "Words cannot express -- they are inadequate to capture -- the emotion that each of us is feeling here today."
That emotion was writ large on the face of Celine's father Jim Cawley.
Like his granddaughter, he too sat in the front pew of the Church of the Assumption yesterday but, for him, the tears flowed freely. Georgia, we could well believe, may be all cried out. An only child, she had neither parent to turn to in her time of greatest need.
Mr Cawley, we learned, had lost another daughter prematurely, due to illness. Celine was taken from him on Monday of last week when she was violently killed on the patio of her own home.
"We remember those who she loved and who loved her. Lord we ask you especially to be with Georgia today, along with her much-loved father and other family members," Fr O'Carroll said.
"She had a tremendous interest in family, not only in her own but she also took great interest in her godson Charlie. She injected incredible love and interest in Barbara's children after their mother was sadly called from this world."
Emotions
That reference to her love of family touched a nerve among many present yesterday, but emotions had run high from the moment Ms Cawley's simple coffin was carried into the church at 12.10pm.
Sutton Park School choir performed a rendition of Take That's 'Rule the World' as the remains were brought towards the altar, while many of Georgia's schoolmates who were not performing were comforted by parents or each other as the 16-year-old passed by.
It was the first of a number of aspects of the service that Georgia's schoolmates took part in -- including praying for her to have strength in these difficult times -- while the singing of a selection of Christmas carols added even more poignancy to the event.
A total of eight priests including Monsignor Brendan Houlihan helped celebrate the funeral Mass at Ms Cawley's parish church, but it was Fr O'Carroll who knew her best.
"We remember her dynamism, her honesty, her loyalty, her dramatic and passionate nature," he said. "We cherish the memory of someone who was incredibly loving, kind, thoughtful and considerate. The death of someone so vital, so full of life and love and promise makes us somehow look at life in a different way. Celine was a doer, imbued with a flair and ability to get things done with panache and style."
Later in the service, the 46-year-old's brother-in-law Andrew Coonan spoke briefly about the "very, very difficult week" the family has endured since her violent death.
"For all the family the loss of Celine is appalling to us," he said simply.
"You are very kind to come and share that sadness and grief with us here today, but it is the times ahead, in the months ahead and the years ahead we will need you more so."
Among the mourners were members of the Haughey family, including Minister for State Sean Haughey, and local politicians including Ivor Callaly.
Mr Coonan and Celine's brother Chris were among the pallbearers as the successful businesswoman was taken on her final journey towards Glasnevin Cemetery.
Her father wept openly behind the coffin, supported by her sister Susanna. Georgia looked on from a little further back, alongside a young female relative.
Our heart went out to her once more.
- Jason O'Brien
