A TALENTED athlete, musician and someone who loved the Irish language, glowing tributes were paid yesterday to the last of the three A1 crash victims as he was laid to rest in Co Down.
There was a mixture of tears and laughter as mourners at the funeral of Conall Havern from Newry heard how he had "touched the lives of many people in lots of different ways" in just 20 short years of life.
Sinn Féin's Caitriona Ruane, a family friend, paid a moving tribute to the young man describing him as "intelligent, thoughtful, loving and funny".
Mr Havern from Crieve Road, Newry and his friends Gavin Sloan from Attical and Peter Hughes from Dromintee were killed in a two-car collision on the A1 dual carriageway between Dromore and Banbridge on Sunday.
All three, students at Queen’s University, had been returning home from Belfast after finalising their accommodation for the forthcoming academic year.
Team-mates from Saval Gaelic Club, Newry, where Mr Havern played, formed a guard of honour outside St Mary's Church in Newry as the funeral cortege arrived yesterday.
Pupils from his former schools, Bunscoil an Iúir Primary School - where he developed his love of the Irish language - as well as Abbey Grammar School, also stood silently outside the church.
Fr Tony Corr described how the three friends had "so much to look forward to and sadly their lives have ended in a tragic way".
He said Mr Havern had grown into a "kind, unassuming, thoughtful and humorous young man" and achieved much success in his studies and sport.
"Despite the fact that his father Mark died suddenly in January 2014, Conall passed his A-levels and secured himself a place at Queen's University to study chemical engineering," he said.
"At Queen's, he met his friends, Peter Hughes and Gavin Sloan.
"Conall and Peter had so much in common, they liked to play poker and had a great love for sport. Conall played for Saville GAC, played hurling for the Shamrocks, soccer for Ballybot and was also a member of a running club.
"He was an avid Down fan and supporter of Liverpool football team.
"Conall loved music and taught himself to play the guitar, this was another one of his favourite past times. Two weeks ago he composed a song about student life in Belfast.
"Conall packed so much activity into his young life yet he always had time for his family and friends."
Fr Corr said Mr Havern's death had "brought wrenching pain, of grief and despair".
Ms Ruane paid an emotional tribute to the young man, whom she had known "for his entire life".
She described the happy days her children spent with Mr Havern and his three sisters when they attended the same Irish school and he developed his love of the language.
"Those eight years were very, very special and anyone who attended that Bunscoil knows what an impact the Havern family had on it," she said.
"Conall was loved by everyone. He was one of the sports stars of the school every year.
"He loved Irish, he believed that Irish was for everyone, regardless of your colour, your creed or your political beliefs and testament to that was he was teaching one of his good friends from the Protestant community Irish because our language can be for everyone."
Ms Ruane said Mr Havern was "deep, a thinker behind the joyful facade, he was interested in politics, history, language, he loved Ireland, he loved Down".
She also said he loved poker and "dreamed of being a professional poker player" after being taught by Mr Hughes.
Ms Ruane spoke of the close family bond with the Havern family, with Mr Havern's mother Joan helping care for her children.
"Conall loved his family .... the house was always full of people, the house that my children loved to go to and stay there," she said.
"And Joan was so good to my children. There was a time when I was working on the Columbia Three campaign and I was out of the country and they were missing me, she brought them home from school, she fed them, she minded them, she did homework with them and she treated them as if they were her own."
"I know that this is a devastating time for you Joan, all I can say is that in your darkest moments, remember you have done something very special - your reared a good boy, you reared a good young man who was proud, intelligent, thoughtful, loving, funny, creative, deep and understanding."
