Limerick hurlers and whole club team rush from match to give funeral guard of honour

KILMALLOCK’S senior hurlers showed class on the field when they defeated Monaleen after extra time in the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final and off the field when they rushed to a funeral the second the referee blew the final whistle.

The players gave a guard of honour at the removal of Angela Hanley, from Gortboy, Kilmallock. Three of Angela’s nephews have represented club and county with distinction - Gavin O’Mahony, Robbie Hanley and Conor Hanley-Clarke.

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The trio were inside Daffy’s funeral home to meet the large number of mourners paying their respects. Outside, their teammates gave a guard of honour as Angela was taken home one last time.

The 59-year-old sadly passed away after an ongoing illness in University Hospital Limerick.

Her sister Máiréad said she and Angela never missed a Kilmallock match so it was lovely for the team to come straight to the removal after the match.

“Gavin, Robbie and Conor came into the funeral home after playing and then when we went out all the boys were outside. They had just literally come off the field and came straight to the funeral. Every single one of them turned up which was lovely,” said Máiréad.

Angela, the beloved daughter of the late Mary and Tommy, was a well-known and popular lady in the town. She started a coffee shop, ran a pub, worked in the pastoral centre and with Rehab Care assisting adults with special needs.

Angela’s jobs reflected her outgoing personality and kind and caring nature.

“She was a big talker but she was a very good listener as well. She was one of those people that people were drawn to and they would tell her their life story. You could always rely on her,” said Máiréad.

Former Kilmallock parish priest Canon Willie Fitzmaurice, who knew Angela well from her time in the pastoral centre, returned to say her funeral Mass.

Máiréad, one of six siblings with Marcella, Gráinne, Noel and Fergal, gave the eulogy at Angela’s funeral Mass. Máiréad said one of the hardest things is to speak about someone who was such a huge part of your life and to now speak about them in the past tense.

“But as a family and her friends, we have great memories that we will cherish, and that's what we rely on now to remember, Angela. 

“We loved her, she will always be spoken about and missed very, very much as we travelled so much together but, now, this is the last journey that she has to face without us. She's with mam and dad now,” said Máiréad.

She thanked Dr Sonya Ryan in Kilmallock, doctors and nurses in Ward 3c in UHL, Canon Willie, Mike Daffy Funeral Directors, Edmond and Colette for the beautiful music and everyone who sent messages and sympathies.

“It’s been such a support during such a sad time. As a family, we really appreciate it,” said Máiréad, whose son, Conor, then read a beautiful poem, The Dash.

Minister of State Niall Collins said the entire Kilmallock GAA team giving a guard of honour after playing a match was a beautiful tribute to Angela.

“It spoke volumes about the esteem that Angela and the wider Hanley and O’Mahony families are held in Kilmallock. The number of mourners who paid their respects at the removal and Mass also reflected their standing in the community.

“I would like to extend my sympathies to all who knew and loved Angela who was taken far too soon. May she rest in peace,” said Minister Collins.