A father and son killed in a tragic road accident last week were laid to rest today.
Vincent Rossi and his five-year-old son Sully died when the car they were travelling in collided with an articulated truck on the N80 at Scruff, Killeigh, Co Offaly.
Photos of the father and son sat on top of their coffins at St Peter and Paul’s Church in Portlaoise, Co Laois.
A bunch of brightly coloured balloons covered in cartoon characters sat between one wooden and one small white casket.
Monsignor John Byrne said in his homily that there was a sense of “shock and sadness” when news first spread of the accident, especially as it involved a child.
He said the “realisation that this tragedy had visited our own community here in Portlaoise and involved a local beloved family just compounded that sense of shock and sadness”.
He added: “If there is an upside I suppose it’s a hope that an accident like this makes us all more resolved to be careful on the roads.”
Vincent’s grandmother Kay was buried last month and Fr Byrne said that no one expected that within a month they would gather again to bury her grandson and great grandson.
He said that the 80-year-old’s death was “in the natural order” but said he was struck “that Vincent was such a young man and Sully only a child”.
The Monsignor said that in these situations “we do ask the good God why” but that the message of eternal life was the “faith and hope” that gathered mourners at the mass.
Mgr Byrne also greeted Vincent’s nine-year-old daughter Hayley, who was watching the funeral on live stream from hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, as she recovered from injuries sustained in the crash.
Addressing her he said: “Hayley, please know that everyone here loves you and is praying for you.
“Please know that we pray for you today at this mass but we will also pray for you tomorrow and everyday until you’re home here with your family in Portlaoise.”
A photo of Vincent and Sully together on a projector screen overlooked the coffins as they were led out of the church by friends and family.
The dad and son, who lived in Portlaoise, lay in repose on Monday night before being brought to St Peter and Paul’s Church for requiem mass at midday.
Ahead of the funeral mass, the family of the father and son wrote on RIP.ie asking mourners to wear bright colours.
The post said the pair were survived by Vincent’s “loving partner Libby and Sully’s mam Tina” as well as children Hayley, Dan and Charli-Mae and their extended family and friends in Portlaoise and Ballinacourty, Kilfinane, Limerick.
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