Months of heartbreak and uncertainty for a Wexford family came to an end on Saturday when Michael Murphy, a victim of the tsunami disaster, was laid to rest in Blackwater, Co Wexford.
The Murphy family of Knockbawn, Blackwater, were stricken with grief during the funeral Mass celebrated by Fr Hugh Byrne, along with Fr Tony Woods, for their 23-year-old son, Michael, who went missing in Khao Lak, one of the worse hit areas in the disaster.
On April 29th the family was contacted with the news that the body had finally been identified.
Mr Murphy's remains were identified using DNA and dental records brought to Thailand in January by a team of gardaí helping in an international effort to identify thousands of foreign nationals who died in the tsunami.
Mr Murphy, a graduate in Nautical Science from the Maritime College in Cork Institute of Technology, had been working in Australia since November 2003 and went to Thailand for a holiday because he had to leave the country temporarily to fulfil the conditions of a visa renewal.
His coffin was draped in the green and yellow colours of his local St Brigid's, Blackwater, GAA club for whom he played.
A guard of honour was provided by club members along with local boy scouts.