Mikey and Thelma were ‘inseparable in life’, funeral mass is told

The funeral of Thelma and Mikey Dennany, the two Rathowen children who died in a car fire in Multyfarnham on Friday last, has taken place in Longford this morning.

At the time of writing, Thelma (5) and Mikey (2) were being laid to rest at Cullyfad Cemetery after their funeral mass took place at St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford.

The main celebrant at the funeral, Fr Sean Casey (PP, Killoe, Co. Longford), said that the children’s lives had been “tragically cut short in the full bloom and promise of childhood”.

“We do not know how these tragedies occurred, or what happened on that lonely road,” Fr Casey said. “We commend all that to the Lord. We know that they were deeply loved and are deeply loved by their parents, by their aunts and uncles, relatives and friends and by all who mourn their passing.”

Fr Casey described Mikey and Thelma as “vibrant and creative children”. In the offertory procession, works of art completed by the children during the final weeks of their lives were brought up to the altar.

“As the symbols that were brought up indicate to us, they loved artwork. They loved to scribble and they loved to paint,” Fr Casey, who baptised both of the children, continued.

Among other items brought forward in the offertory procession were two fishing rods owned by the children, who were “looking forward to trying them out in the lakes and rivers of County Westmeath”.

“They were inseparable in life,” the priest continued. “In the words of their dad Michael, the only thing that separate them was school as they went their separate ways each morning.

“Thelma attended dance classes and football training, and Mikey always came to watch her training from the sideline. But on Saturday week last, he ventured onto the pitch for the first time to join her in the sport she loved.

“They loved to run and laugh and feel the wind in their hair, and to pick wildflowers…. They are together now exploring the highways and byways of Heaven.”

Fr Casey prayed for the children and staff of the preschool in Rathowen attended by Mikey, and the pupils and staff of St Cremin’s NS, Multyfarnham, where Thelma was in senior infants.

He also prayed for the children’s parents, Michael and Lynn, and their siblings Eddie and Katelyn, “all of whom are weighed down by sorrow”. He said that the children will be “forever young in the hearts of their parents and brother and sister”.

Bishop Pat Storey, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare, was among those welcomed to the funeral mass by Fr Casey, as were Fr Tom Healy, administrator of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois; Rev. Christian Snell, Longford and Edgeworthstown Group of Parishes, and Fr Conor McGee, PP, Multyfarnham,

Also present were staff from Wilson’s Hospital School, Multyfarnham – which is attended by Mikey and Thelma’s elder siblings – including Mr John Galligan (acting principal), Rev. Luke Hawkins (chaplain) and prefects.

Vivienne Mulvey and Niamh Anderson, from Mikey’s preschool, Waddlers and Toddlers (Rathowen) were also welcomed, while Thelma’s school, St Cremin’s NS, Multyfarnham, was represented by Mr Karl Dermody (principal). Ms Joan Hickson, Thelma’s class teacher, presented a collage created by the school in her memory.

Before the funeral ended, Fr Casey read a statement on behalf of the Dennany and Egar families. “We the family would like to thank everyone for helping us to say farewell to Thelma and Mikey. We use farewell because with the memories they left us through their short lives and their infectious smiles, they will be with us forever,” the statement read.