Funeral arrangements for Erris road tragedy victims confirmed

POSTMORTEM examinations have been completed at Mayo University Hospital, Castlebar, on the three family members killed in a road collision near Claremorris on Monday and the bodies released for burial.

A small group of grieving relatives and friends stood by at the hospital morgue as the coffins containing the remains of mother of four,

Marcella Wilson, her mother Mary Ann, who was in her seventies, and her seven year old son, Sean, were removed to waiting hearses.

The remains of all three will repose at McDonnell's Funeral Home, Barrack Street, Belmullet, on Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. prior to their arrival at St. Joseph's Church, Binghamstown, at 10 pm.

A triple funeral will take place to the seaside cemetery in Cross on Friday folowing Requiem Mass at 1 p.m.

Local priest, Fr. Kevin Hegarty, said the  people of Erris were responding with the same compassion and empathy towards the heartbroken relatives as they had shown for the loved ones of the Rescue 116 helicopter tragedy earlier this year, 

 "I expect the same thing to happen now," he told listeners to Midwest Radio News. 

Marcella Wilson had three other children, Amy (16), Kelly (14) and Anthony (8).

Fr. Hegarty described the Wilsons as "highly respected and well liked."

He added: "It is absolute devastation for them. They are absolutely suffering just now. We do want them to know we deeply care."

Erris based Senator Rose Conway Walsh said: "It was my privilege to  know the three who died. They were very ordinary, decent human beings. They lived down the road from us here. It was  always a pleasure to meet them. 

"There is just a profound sadnes and shock  in the community that this could have happened to such a lovely family. Peope are trying to make sense of what happened  but you just can't make sense of something like this."