Rachael Lowry funeral: ‘Raw emotion’ on display for teenager who died in crash

Rachael Lowry, a world champion pipe band drum major from Markethill, passed away on Thursday following the crash on the Coolmillish Road.

A service of Thanksgiving was held in Mountnorris Presbyterian Church this afternoon.

Rev Nigel Reid, speaking to the News Letter after the funeral, described the outpouring of anguish by her family and friends, many of whom had lined the route for the funeral cortege.

“There was a massive crowd of people lining the streets as the funeral cortege went down, made up of many young people,” he said.

“Rachael was a gifted young person. She had got very good GCSE results in the summer, she was a beautiful looking young girl who had a great interest in beauty and healthcare, she had a good singing voice, she was gifted in music and drama.

“And she was very sociable, she was very funny, she had a lot of friends.”

He continued: “The family are just devastated. The raw emotion of so many young people that were lining the route, and the raw emotion from the drum major fraternity, showed how much Rachael was respected and thought of.”

The clergyman said the family wished to express their thanks “to the whole community for their amazing support”.

He added: “They would like to express their thanks to the Co Armagh drum majors class, to local businesses and to the people within the local community who rallied to them in their dark and difficult time.

“I spoke to the young people directly and shared with them that they are very much in my thoughts and prayers. The Biblical message was to cry out to God when tragedy strikes. The text was Psalm 120 verse 1: ‘In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me’.”