A huge crowd has gathered in an Irish town for the funeral of a father and his young son who died while on holiday in Turkey.
Eoin Fitzpatrick, 35, and his 10-year-old son Dylan Fitzpatrick, from Portlaoise in Co Laois, died in a road crash last Monday while on holiday in Alanya.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at St Peter and Paul’s Church on Tuesday for the funeral of “devoted” father Eoin and his son Dylan, a “treasured” student.
Members from the Portlaoise GAA community formed a guard of honour and Dylan’s classmates held flowers outside the church as the two coffins were carried into the church.
Family members described Eoin as a gifted sportsman who wore the town and county GAA colours with pride, and who was “the master of one-liners”.
Dylan loved to “let his imagination run wild” and was a sweet child who was “one of a kind”, mourners were told.
The parish priest said the tragedy had left their families “heartbroken and bewildered”, and the whole community was left “in shock and united in sympathy”.
He expressed his condolences to Eoin’s son and Dylan’s older brother Cian, who had been on holiday with them in Turkey, and said that Dylan’s mother Claire was “heartbroken” by the loss.
Claire described her “beautiful” son Dylan as special and witty, and loved “the simple things in life”.
“As my family would say, it was Dylan’s world and we were all just living in it,” she told the congregation.
“He loved to dance, he loved to colour, he loved to read, he loved to swim.
“He loved trains, his favourite movies were Matilda and Paddington 2.
“He always held my hand and I will forever hold him in my heart.
“His best friend was his daddy, whom he loved so dearly because he was, and always will be, the most amazing father to him and Cian. I hope they’re holding each other so tight wherever they are.
“I’ll end this with saying something that Dylan and I would always say to each other: I love you, I love you more, I love you most.”
Eoin’s sisters Ciara, Maryse and Aideen, and Eoin’s friend David, also addressed the congregation.
Bishop Denis Nulty expressed sympathy to Cian and Claire, Eoin’s parents and Dylan’s grandparents Rita and Frank Fitzpatrick, Dylan’s maternal grandparents Liz and Andy Dowling, and Eoin’s partner Suzie and her family.
Items brought up to the altar to represent Dylan’s life included a model train, a book and a painting, as art was described as the “gateway into his imagination and how he saw the world”.
Items brought up to represent Eoin included a hurl, as he was a “skilled” and “gifted” player, and a Manchester United jersey.
The priest said the “huge congregation”, spilling out over the grounds of the church to attend the service, showed locals’ desire to “embrace and support” the family whose hearts had been “truly broken” by the loss and the popularity of both father and son.
“The boys are deeply mourned by their utterly heartbroken families,” he said.
