RELIGIOUS, CIVIC, political and sporting figures joined mourners for the funeral of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr, who was murdered last Saturday.
The funeral procession were led by his mother Nuala, his sister Dairine and brothers Cathair and Aaron. They were joined by a large number of the family circle from counties Tyrone and Fermanagh, as well as west Belfast.
They were escorted by the four main church leaders and by MPs, TDs and Assembly members from the main parties, representatives of the Irish and British governments, senior sports figures and the heads of the PSNI and the Garda.
Constable Kerr’s coffin, bearing his PSNI cap and gloves, was taken from the family home on the outskirts of the village following a private family service. The murder victim had joined the PSNI last May and completed his training just months ago.
Constable Kerr (25) died after a device detonated as he got into his car in Omagh, a short distance from the rural parish church where his requiem Mass was celebrated. He had been assigned to Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, and was serving a probationary period.
His coffin was borne by members of the Red Knights, the late police constable’s GAA club. After a short distance they handed the coffin to six PSNI officers. On the approaches to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, they in turn handed over to six more pall-bearers. These included GAA president Christy Cooney, Ulster president Aoghan Ó Fearghail, GAA Ulster secretary Ciarán McLaughlin, Tyrone captain Brian Dooher and the Tyrone senior manager Mickey Harte.
The coffin was carried by family members past a guard of honour of local school children from St Oliver Plunkett’s to the doors of the church where it was met by Fr John Skinnader.
Already assembled in the church were political leaders from all parties throughout Ireland.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny was joined by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, Northern Secretary Owen Paterson and by the DUP leader Peter Robinson and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness.
The President was represented by her aide-de-camp Michael McMahon. Queen Elizabeth was also represented.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and Mr McGuinness were joined by Alex Maskey, Pat Doherty and Barry McElduff, among others.
Stormont Minister for Justice and Alliance leader David Ford attended alongside Minister for Justice Alan Shatter, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott. The SDLP was represented by Margaret Ritchie, Alasdair McDonnell, Alex Attwood and Joe Byrne. They were joined in the congregation by Tom Elliott, Danny Kennedy and Basil McCrea of the Ulster Unionists, Independent MP Lady Sylvia Hermon and senior UDA figure Jackie McDonald.
Among the mourners were Peter Bunting and David Begg from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Chairman of the Omagh relatives group Michael Gallagher attended, as did Kate Carroll, widow of the first PSNI officer to be murdered. The policing board, which holds the PSNI to account, was represented by acting chairman Brian Rea and former Irish rugby international Trevor Ringland.
Other church leaders were present, including the Presbyterian Moderator Dr Norman Hamilton, president of the Methodist Church in Ireland the Rev Paul Kingston, and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh Dr Alan Harper.
In his homily Fr Skinnader said that even the liturgy would struggle to give comfort to the bereaved. “Ronan left a legacy of love,” he said. “He had a sharp sense of wit,” he added. “He loved his Gaelic football . . . He loved his new career. Seeing him sitting behind the wheel of his police car I said to myself, ‘There is the new face of Northern Ireland’. He wanted to be of service to others and working for the good of the entire community.
“He and his generation are proud of their culture, tradition and faith – without walls or barriers. It is inclusive, not exclusive. It unites rather than divides.”
Echoing the words of his mother shortly after his murder, Fr Skinnader said Constable Kerr had not died in vain. The cross-section of the community present in the church was testimony to that, he added.
The final commendation was given by Cardinal Seán Brady, the Catholic primate.
He urged the congregation to make the occasion of Constable Kerr’s funeral a defining moment.
“Parents and grandparents, I beg you, plead with your children and with your grandchildren, not to get involved with violence,” he said. “Violence has nothing, absolutely nothing, to offer except misery and destruction. Choose life, I say, choose goodness, choose peace. That is what God is asking of you. That is what the people of all traditions have been saying to all of us, loud and clear, since the moment of Ronan’s tragic death on Saturday last. In God’s name stop. And stop now.”
Dr Brady said the assembly of politicians from so many parties in both parts of Ireland and the wave of condemnation made it clear that Constable Kerr had not died in vain. His address was received with sustained applause.
After Mass the coffin was taken to Drumduff cemetery for a private burial.