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Funerals have been held for two of the three victims of last week’s crash in Co Carlow.
The funeral service for 21-year-old Daryl Culbert heard about a quiet-spoken young man who loved his family and whose great interest in life was cars.
Hundreds packed into St Peter’s Church in Kiltegan in west Wicklow and its grounds to pay their respects to Daryl, a trainee mechanic whose knowledge of cars was great, and offer their support to his parents Heather and Trevor and sisters Amy and Chloe.
“It is a terrible shock to have such a bright light taken from our nearness,” Reverend Máirt Hanley told the congregation.
Rev Hanley said: “In many ways, it may feel like you have been robbed. But not robbed of the light.
“Robbed of opportunities to see how that light shone in circumstances that will never now happen. But you did have that light.”
That light now shines for eternity, Rev Hanley said, as does Daryl’s eternal love for the young man, “and you can carry that light with you, wherever you go from here”.
Daryl’s father, Trevor, said that anyone who knew Daryl knew of a quietly-spoken young man with a cheeky grin and a “lovely glint” in his eyes. “You couldn’t but love him,” he said.
He was their first-born, he said in his eulogy, and he was greatly loved by him and his wife Heather and their daughters and Daryl’s young sisters Chloe and Amy.
Daryl attended the nearby Kiltegan National School and then boarded at Kilkenny College, “which he thoroughly enjoyed” and where he made many friends.
He was a trainee mechanic, “which he started in my garage from an early age,” Trevor said, and recently started phase two of his apprenticeship at Finglas Training Centre, with knowledge that was second to none.
He loved the motor-racing disciplines of autograss and cross-karting, interests that were handed down from Trevor himself, and father and son attended many events together, making many friends along the way.
Mr Culbert thanked all of the emergency services for their work last Wednesday night and Thursday in the immediate aftermath of the crash at Leagh, outside Carlow, which claimed the lives of Daryl, Katie Graham and Michael Kelly, and described it as a very difficult time for the families of all the victims, including the young man being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
“Daryl was not only my son, he was my best friend as well. We did absolutely everything together. He loved and adored his mum, Heather,” he said.
Mr Culbert concluded with a message to his son and said “Daryl – we will love you forever and we will never forget you,” greeted by loud applause inside and outside the church.
Afterwards, Daryl was laid to rest in the graveyard adjoining the church.
Katie was ‘a kind and caring spirit’, mourners told
“A kind and caring spirit” with a passion for cars “that knew no bounds” was how Katie Graham was described at her funeral mass earlier.
Arles Parish priest Fr Pádraig Shelley told the congregation that Katie was studying to be a teacher, like her grandmother, but all her dreams “were sadly cut short” last week.
The 19-year-old was killed along with Daryl Culbert, 21, and 25-year-old Michael Kelly when the car they were travelling in crashed in Co Carlow last Wednesday.
Katie’s friend Sharon told the congregation she had a “beautiful soul inside and out, with a smile that would light up a room” and she adored her family.
Symbols were brought to the altar by Katie’s sister and cousins to represent different aspects of her life.
Among the items were a family photograph, a Kilkenny jersey, a jewellery box and a target shooting board as she loved going to the shooting range with her father.
Her sister Laura brought a number plate with Katie’s name on it to portray her love for her car which she took great pride in.
Fr Shelly said “she loved her car and took great pride in it, her love for cars and motorsport comes from her father and uncle Andrew and adopted uncle Paul.”
He said Katie had a large circle of friends who she loved talking about cars with, sharing ideas, travelling to rallies and gathering for chats in Junction 5 in Carlow.
He said they had lost three good friends from that circle.
The congregation heard about Katie’s love for quad biking as a teenager, partaking in competitions and bringing home many trophies.
“She awaited eagerly to get a provisional licence”, Fr Shelley said, and then a full licence, trawling the internet looking at cars for sale before finally getting one.
Katie was buried in the adjoining cemetery following the funeral service in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Arles.
Michael Kelly’s funeral Mass will take place tomorrow in Hacketstown in Co Carlow.
Additional reporting Dyane Connor
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