Anne O’Sullivan faced illness with ‘dignity and courage’, funeral hears

A woman who lost her two sons and husband in a Co Cork murder-suicide six months ago was remembered at her funeral Mass on Friday as a person of immense courage and dignity.

Canon Toby Bluitt told mourners at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kanturk that Anne O’Sullivan (61) had faced unimaginable grief last October when her entire immediate family was taken overnight in bleak circumstances.

Despite having a serious illness, he said, Ms O’Sullivan, from Raheen in Kanturk, found the strength to attend a joint funeral of her husband Tadg (59) and son Diarmuid (23) and a separate service for her son Mark (26).

“Anne lost her battle against her illness. She died, as we might say, before her time. As was characteristic of her, she accepted her fate with dignity and courage but lost out in the end,” Canon Bluitt said.

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He said it was important to be thankful for Ms O’Sullivan’s life and to gather around her for a last farewell in the place that nourished her faith and fostered her hope. He said that in an ideal world she would have lived a long and healthy life, but this unfortunately is not an ideal world.

“Darkness came into Anne’s life when she lost her family in very sad and tragic circumstances, and when she lost her battle with the illness she had fought so courageously,” he said. “We have an added sadness, I think, that for Anne, for one family, life didn’t work out the way it might have.”

Care and concern

Canon Bluitt told mourners that Ms O’Sullivan, who had worked as a nurse, brought an attitude of care and concern towards those entrusted to her. He added that she was now in a place where it will “always be bright, always be light. A place where there is no more weeping, no more tears”.

Louise Sherlock paid tribute to Ms O’Sullivan, her cousin, for putting her career on hold to care for her elderly mother following the sudden death of her father, Tim.

“When I think of Anne there are a few words that immediately come to mind - gentle, caring, quiet, kind, unselfish, sincere and compassionate,” she said. “Anne showed nothing but kindness to her family, her friends and her neighbours.”

She added: “We all share a myriad of happy memories down through the years. We hope that Anne is now at peace.”

Ms O’Sullivan lost her husband and sons following a dispute over the inheritance of the 115 acre family farm in Kanturk. Tadg and Diarmuid shot Mark on October 26th last and were later found dead in a nearby field.

A private cremation followed the Mass.