Bláthnaid's Requiem Monday 18th September 2006
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Sligo

A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF ST PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS

 

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, it is not resentful.  Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
Love does not come to an end.
In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.photo

This is the word of the Lord

 

Be Not Afraid Ursuline Choir

 

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION

 

Then I saw a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Then, one of  their leaders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?”  I said to him “Sir, you know”.  And he said to me, “These are they who have come through the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore they are before the throne at God and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun or scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all the tears from their eyes.

This is the word of the Lord

 

Bidding Prayers

 

1. We Pray For sick children everywhere especially the children of St John’s Ward in Crumlin
    Lord Hear Us.

 

2.  We Pray For all the deceased members of the O’Connor and Foley family especially       Granny Lucy O’Connor and Grandad Pee Foley.
    Lord Hear Us.

 

3.  We Pray For all those who cared for Bláthnaid throughout her illness namely the staff of The Medicentre, Sligo General Hospital, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, St Lukes Hospital and latterly North West Hospice.
    Lord Hear Us.

 

4.  We Pray For all the members of Bláthnaid’s family, her Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and especially her Mum Dad Sorcha, Connor and Ailbhe.  Give them the strength to face the future without her.
    Lord Hear Us. 

 

5. We Pray For all those who have supported Bláthnaid and her family since her diagnosis.  Their relatives, friends, neighbours, clergy and those who contributed acts of kindness who did not know her personally.
    Lord Hear Us.

 

6.  We Pray For peace in our world, in the hope of a brighter future for all children.     
Lord hear us               

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Gospel

A Reading From The Holy Gospel According To Mark:

      People were bringing children to Jesus so that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.

      But when Jesus saw it he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such as these The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs.

      Truly, I say to you,  whoever does not receive The Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

      And he took them in his arms and blessed them.  Laying his hands upon them. 

This is The Gospel of The Lord

 

Offertory Procession introduced by Bláthnaid’s Auntie Olive
 

(1) Ailbhe is bringing a very treasured family photo taken during their last family holiday before her illness signifying the most important thing in her life.

(2) Ciara, Bláthnaid’s cousin, is bringing a photo of Chester her Miniature Yorkshire Terrier  whom she adored and was a great source of comfort and happiness in the midst of pain.

(3) Eva, Bláthnaid’s cousin, is a book of her songs which is a symbol of her wonderful imagination and musical creativity which will, in time, be a source of inspiration for her family.

(4) Sofia, Bláthnaid’s cousin, is bringing one of her paintings. Bláthnaid’s love of life and vibrant presence reflected in the painting is what we will remember and cherish and says everything about her

(5) The next Offering is a song chosen by Bláthnaid’s Daddy, John, that represents her free spirit and a particular favourite of hers ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free’ by the Lighthouse Family.

(6 & 7) The final Offerings of the Bread and Wine are carried by Bláthnaid’s good friends Amy and Genevieve.

 

Connor’s Eulogy for Bláthnaid

Before this ever happened life was normal but when Bláthnaid got cancer it was horrible. 

Our family got closer but Bláthnaid kept getting sicker and even though she fought so hard she couldn’t win the battle. 

I love Bláthnaid so much and I know that she’s not suffering anymore but she has left a gap in our family and I will always miss her.

Goodbye Bláthnaid

 

Bláthnaid’s Eulogy from her Mum, Fiona read by her Auntie Sinéad

I don’t really know where to begin, how to portray what is in my mind today but it seems vital to somehow explain to those of you who were not lucky enough to know Bláthnaid well who she was and let you all share in mourning our loss and realise that the world is a poorer place for her passing.

This is, quite simply, the worst thing that could happen to me, to us as a family, or indeed to any parent here today, the loss of a cherished child.

Bláthnaid entered the world 13 and a half years ago with a struggle.  She was born by emergency caesarean and the experience reinforced to John and I how fragile and precious this little life was. 

It became rapidly clear that we had managed to produce a singularly unique individual that stood out from the crowd.  She made friends easily and was always very popular. At the age of four and a half she began school in Scoil Ursula.  Her first teacher, Maisie MacNabola informed us at her parent teacher meeting that she knew Bláthnaid had special qualities and was convinced, in her own words, that ‘her name will be up in lights’.  How sad that it will be for all the wrong reasons.

So many occasions of profound, almost spiritual significance have occurred since Bláthnaid’s birth.  Aged two or three months we found a lump on her right side which turned out to be harmless, how ironic that this then should be the location of her primary tumor twelve years later.  When she became ill I said to Evelyn, John’s Mother, that I feared it would be cancer as she was almost too good for this world.  How right.

How can I put into words all the things that set her apart and made her our Bláthnaid?  The cards she made that said exactly the right thing.  My Mum died with one of Bláthnaid’s cards her most prized possession.  Her poems that would transport you to some beautiful place and time, her paintings that would stir a place in you untouched by the greatest artist and her sense of humour capable of making us all stop in our tracks and laugh.  But most of all her angelic smile, always smiling right to the end in the face of terrible pain and suffering.

It’s so important to tell you all this because our family need to make sense of  our loss.  In order to do so we want to remember our experience to try and make a difference to the future children in this country and elsewhere who have yet to be diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.  We want to raise money in Bláthnaid’s name to carry out her final wishes which included highlighting  and helping to change the conditions we had to endure on St. John’s Ward, Crumlin the only paediatric Oncology Unit in Ireland, and her experience being a kid with cancer outside the scope of Dublin’s children’s hospitals and their facilities.

photoWith this in mind we intend to establish a Trust in her memory, and as you leave here today, if you would like to receive more details of how you can help with this trust  please leave your contact details on the sheets provided at the back of the church.
Being her Mum has been a joy from the first to the last.  Before her death she continued to demonstrate her selfless caring nature with such a capacity for love by telling us not to cry and asking Fr. John to pray for me.  She told me that I needed a break and to carry on.  She brought so much love into our lives that it seems impossible to recover from her loss.  Please help us to cherish and remember her and do this little angel’s brief life and cruel death justice.

I would like to thank everyone here today and all those who have contributed to Bláthnaid’s and our care over the past 17 months.  She often declared with pride that Sligo was the best most beautiful place to come from and that the people here were the best.  She sympathised with the kids in hospital from Dublin because they didn’t have all the support she got simply walking down the street here.  (She also felt that the Sligo County flag should have a position of far more prominence in the corridors of  Crumlin).  Thank you to all who sent her little gifts and cards which demonstrated your care and supported her tremendously.  There are far too many to name individually but there are those who must be mentioned;

Fr John our guide, our dear friend and companion that has remained with us since the beginning and especially through Mum’s last days.

All of Bláthnaid’s extended family especially her Grandad O’Connor and Granny Foley. Her beloved Aunties, Uncles and cousins.

Finally, most of all I would like to pay tribute to the most beloved of all the people in Bláthnaid’s life, her Daddy John, her big sister Sorcha and her little brother and sister, Connor and Ailbhe.  They have borne witness to all her pain and suffering and have also shared all the laughter, fun and love in her life.  I am so proud of my family and cannot express how much each precious child means to me.  Please remember them in your thoughts and prayers and help us all to continue on our journey through life without our darling Bláthnaid.

I realise that this falls short of the moving tribute such an extraordinary little person deserves but I am her Mum, I do not possess her gift of expression and no words are capable of expressing my feelings for my child.  Please do not forget Bláthnaid and all of those here who care so much for her and help us in the future to help others like her as she would wish. Thank you. 

 

     Special Thanks

  To the Staff of St John’s Ward in Crumlin especially our friend Denis O‘Shea, the staff of  Sligo General,  the Medicentre and the entire Homecare team in particular Anne Marie.

  To all of Blathnaid’s friends that stuck with her throughout her illness, no mean feat as she was unable to keep up with their pace so much of the time but with special thanks to Genevieve and her dear friend Amy Broder.
 
  To our friends and neighbours without whom daily life would not have been possible.  Thanks and love to Ruth, her personal dietician, and the entire Broder family, the Hegartys and the Fitzgeralds. 

  We would also like to make special mention of our friends in America who have done so much for us all, Fiona McGowan and Gerry Kane who raised funds for Blathnaid to fulfil her dream of swimming with the dolphins in Florida, which sadly was not to be but the funds will go to her Memorial Trust Fund.
 
  To the staff at our shop who enabled John to spend much needed time with our child.

  To Sr Mairead, Sr Sarah and all their colleagues at the Ursuline Convent and Scoil Ursula and a special thanks to Maisie McNabola.
 
  Finally, to all of you, you know who you are, too many to mention that made a difference through this very difficult time.  Our deepest gratitude.

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