Funeral after farm accident

Mourners at the funeral for the son of a Sinn Fein councillor who died in a farm accident have been advised not to fear questioning God about his untimely death.
The funeral of Toirdealbhach Larkin St at Catherine's Dominican, Newry. The young father of three died in a construction accident on a farm.The funeral of Toirdealbhach Larkin St at Catherine's Dominican, Newry. The young father of three died in a construction accident on a farm.
The funeral of Toirdealbhach Larkin St at Catherine's Dominican, Newry. The young father of three died in a construction accident on a farm.

Toirdealbhach Larkin, son of south Armagh Sinn Fein councillor Mickey Larkin, was fatally injured while erecting an outbuilding on Kinallen Road in Katesbridge on Friday.

He is believed to have been building a wall by pouring concrete between two large plates of steel, one of which fell.

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Aged in his 20s, he was from Newry and Bessbrook and is survived by his grandmother, parents Sandra and Michael, partner Aoife, children Scarlett, Lily-Mae and Thomas and siblings Tanya, Peter, Charlene, Caoilfhionn, Tiarnán, Lochlainn, Seadanta, Conor, Shea, Lyndon, Oisín, Ruairí, Conall and Cillian (as listed in a death notice).

Fr Cesare Becio officiated at his funeral mass at St Catherine’s Dominican, Newry, yesterday. Before the service began a priest received two symbols, a motorcycle helmet and a power tool case, from children at the front of the chapel, before holding them up for mourners to see.

“There are occasions in life which make us cry out ‘why’?” Fr Becio said. “Why did that happen in this way? Why did that happen to me?

“And in this kind of occasion we feel, so to speak, betrayed by God, by the very same God we were told from our childhood to call Father.

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“The bible is full of cries like that, so we must never fear to speak out our real feelings to God. God knows them already but he also knows our need to express them.

“Did not Jesus himself cry out to the Father, why have you forsaken me? So if Jesus did that, we are entitled to do the same.”

God does not explain why this has happened, and even if he did we would not understand the answer, he said, because the answer “belongs to the end of time when... God will wipe away all tears”.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 10.07am on Friday, saying a male was unconscious.

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After Mr Larkin’s death, Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein MLA Megan Fearon said: “I am shocked and deeply saddened at the news of the tragic death of Toirdealbhach.”

GAA club Drumintee GAC said they “deeply regret the death of Toirdealbhach Larkin son of local councillor and loyal club supporter Mickey Larkin”.

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