Funerals Held in Ireland as Donations Mount for Families

As families deal with the unimaginable grief of losing a child, or rally to the bedside of a gravely injured child, generous strangers have stepped forward so that the families won’t have to worry about the financial impact of their ordeals.

In just one week, more than $300,000 has been donated to the families to mitigate their costs. And those costs are substantial. Five of the six young adults who were killed on Monday of last week were from Ireland. Their parents traveled here to retrieve the bodies of lost children, two of whom were transported to the hospital by ambulance and received emergency treatment. The bodies of all five were then transported home. Pricey.

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Seven young adults from Ireland were seriously injured, with their parents traveling here to be by their sides. Ambulances, hospitals, doctors, airline tickets, accommodations, meals. Times seven.

The American Ireland Fund donated $100,000 last week to “support those who are providing care and assistance on the ground, in particular the San Francisco Irish Pastoral Center,” according to the Irish Times.

Then came the GoFundMe effort. Donations topped $200,000 in one week.

Funerals

All five of the Irish students who died are back on their native soil. Two funerals were held on Tuesday. Two more are planned for Wednesday. A sad succession of grief and a step toward closure. Plans for the remaining Irish funeral have not been announced.

The lone American who died, Ashley Donohoe, whose parents are from Dublin, was laid to rest in Rohnert Park.

Below, the funerals held Tuesday for Eoghan Culligan and Eimear Walsh.