The Funeral Mass for the late Alan McCluskey RIP will take place at 10.00am today in Saint Peter & Paul’s Church, Drumconrath, Co Meath, in the Diocese of Meath. The chief celebrant for the Mass will be Father Finian Connaughton, Parish Priest of Drumconrath-Meath Hill. Please see below information on the Funeral Liturgy:
Symbols – explained by Conleth
1. Family and Chloe – (Mum and Dad)
2. Work – (Ben)
3. Friends – (AJ and Charlie)
4. Farming machinery – (Joe Doughty and James Carpenter)
5. Travel – (Daryl Shanky)
6. Music – (Tracey and Kellie)
- Beginning of Mass
Music – performed throughout the Mass by singer Niamh Kiernan; drums by James Mackin; and piano by Brendan Leavy.
First Reading – A reading from the Book of the Apocalypse (14:13), read by Alan Well.
I, John, heard a voice from heaven say to me, ‘Write down:
Happy are those who die in the Lord!
Happy indeed, the Spirit says; now they can rest for ever after their work,
since their good deeds go with them.’
The word of the Lord.
Second Reading – A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (6:3–4, 8–9), read by Peter Galligan.
When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death;
in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death,
so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory,
we too might live a new life.
But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him:
Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.
Death has no power over him any more.
The word of the Lord.
Homily delivered by Father Finian Connaughton
Sudden and unexpected death does terrible things to us. Even as we carry out the funeral rituals there is still an air of disbelief, incomprehension that this is happening to someone who sat in these benches two Sundays ago, someone we saw driving his van up the street only a few days ago.
I think it is fairly accurate to say that we feel something of the shocked confusion that was experienced by those two disciples, who were close friends of Jesus, and whom we meet in today’s gospel. Their disappointment, sense of loss is beyond words – as is ours – they, like us, had their hopes and their dreams, a bright future ahead, but now, as they indicate in their conversation, it seems that it is all over and they are on their way home, nowhere to turn to.
As I have mentioned at the beginning of Mass, because of the events of Easter Sunday morning there was a turning point ahead for these two disciples, there is a turning point for all of us symbolised by our Easter candle with its promise of new life, a whole new world ahead of us.
It is fair to say that I knew Alan pretty well, having journeyed with him for his Sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation.
In any parish setting, be it big or small, there will be some families, some individuals that, as a priest, I may be more involved with. This can be so for any number of reasons, perhaps because of regular Mass attendance, involvement in various parish gatherings, and related pastoral activities. The McCluskey family have been very much part of my life for the past twenty-five years. The timeline and the details of our engagments are too numerous to mention but I could begin, I suppose, with Alan’s baptism 22 years ago – there was singing that day!! Most recently, in the days after Christmas, there was the memorable candle lit wedding ceremony for Conleth and Sharon, rather special with just the two families involved. There were many, many other happenings in between, music shows in the Parish Centre, decoration around the church for different seasons, parish festivals, a bale of straw for the harvest gathering or the outdoor crib, a mini digger bit of topsoil for the cemetery and, of course, turf on the bog. As a child, in his teenage years, Alan was seldom absent from any of these activities.
The aspect of Alan’s life which I would like to focus on, and from which we can all draw inspiration, was the practice of his faith. In a fairly exceptional way he was extremely faithful to his Baptismal and Confirmation promises attending Mass every Sunday, and being present at many additional church events the most recent being the Redemptorist novena in Dundalk which he fit in every evening after work. While he was known to work every hour that God gave him during the week, he would almost never work on the Sunday. Sunday is there for a reason he would say! The biblical notion of Sabbath, the Day of the Lord, that was ingrained in him from his childhood, was reinforced, I suspect, by his grandad – a seriously religious man.
Other stories I heard over the past few days show a very caring side to his nature. Ever on the lookout for lads that might be mixing with the wrong company. Again this reflects a lovely Christian virtue, to love your neighbour, keep a look out for them and their wellbeing – that was Alan.
Our fourth commandment says honour your father and your mother. Alan lived at home and I know he adored his father and his mother, Bernie and Martin. This was quite evident at home in the house, in the yard, or on the site, and it was most clearly displayed here on a Sunday morning when he came here and sat between right up in the front seats in clear view of the whole congregation. At ten years of age that might be normal practice. At anything past the age of twelve or thirteen – well its just not done! What might your friends think?
Not to canonize him before his time, but Alan was no different to other teenagers in having his own mind on some issues, one of them was school. I seem to remember Alan’s mother Bernie talking to me in a very confessional setting one evening … Alan wants to give up school, and go to work! I am not too clear on the advice that I gave but the record-book tells of Alan being driven, mind you, by his mother, to his final Junior Cycle examination – into the exam hall, paper finished and handed in, in the shortest possible time, so that he could get back on the silage pit ASAP! Not for Alan was the school desk and book learning! His sights were elsewhere, more on the OPEN University of the fields and the fences, the animals, the workplace. From here on in his tutors would be his Mam and his Dad, Bernie and Martin, professors in their own right. In this setting Alan was a good student, a quick learner, top of the class one might say and ready for graduation at just 22 years of age.
There is the temptation to say that all of that is now ended, there we must stop and reroute. We have that expression from the Scriptures that God’s ways are not our ways, and while we are familiar with it we choose to ignore its implications. We hear expressions like:
– Why did God take him?
– Why does God always seems to take the best?
Such questions, I suspect, are applying our limited understanding to a realm beyond our understanding. God does not interfere in our lives like that. For me, I prefer the little prayer which says “As God did not lose them in the giving, we do not lose them in their return.”
I pray:
Eternal Father in the midst of our pain and grief,
We thank you for the good that you granted us to see and experience through Alan.
We remember the joy that Alan brought us, the love that he showed,
The kindness that he shared as he reached out to help others,
And we thank you for it.
We recall Alan before you as a dear and precious son,
A caring brother, a quiet and trustworthy friend.
Bless, we pray, and use our memories of Alan as instruments of your healing grace.
Set fast in our minds and our hearts the good news of our faith,
The news that, through Christ, death has no dominion,
The news that, all that is right, all that is beautiful, all that is noble, is not lost to us,
Rather is brought to full flower in your eternal presence where no torment can ever touch,
Where you yourself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Amen.
Prayer of the Faithful
1. For Alan – read by Tracey McCluskey.
We pray for Alan, taken from us far too young.
A gentle giant with a brave heart, gifted hands, and a soul full of kindness.
May the Lord who created him in love now receive him into the joy of eternal life, where no tragedy, no pain, and no darkness can touch him again.
Lord, hear us.
2. For the blessing of Alan’s life – read by Tommy Conlan.
We give thanks for Alan’s remarkable life – for his hard work as a farmer, a fencing contractor, a builder, and a young man who could turn his hands to anything.
We thank God for his smile, his courage, his humour, and the way he embraced every moment, whether travelling the world or working on the land.
May the example of his generosity and strength remain alive in all who knew him.
Lord, hear us.
3. For those who loved them – read by Lavinia Lynch.
We pray for all who loved Alan and Chloe.
For Alan’s heartbroken parents, his devoted sisters, brothers in law, his cousins, aunts, uncles, and his wide circle of friends who now carry the weight of this unimaginable loss.
We remember too their grandparents who have gone before them – Alan’s Granny and Granda O’Reilly, his Granny and Granda McCluskey – and the friends and family who have already entered eternal life.
May they now welcome Alan, Chloe, Dylan, Shay and Chloe together, into the fullness of God’s peace and joy.
Lord, hear us.
4. For the community who mourns him – read by Kellie McCluskey.
We pray for all who feel the weight of Alan’s loss – the people he worked with, helped, laughed with, supported, and blessed simply by being himself.
May the memory of his kindness, his boundless work ethic, his willingness to help anyone, and his soft, gentle spirit inspire us all to love more deeply and live more fully.
May God heal every broken heart here today.
Lord, hear us.
5. For the clergy and all who support the family – read by Adam Finlay.
We pray for Father Connaughton, for this parish community, and for all who have supported Alan’s family and all five of the families affected through these dark and painful days.
May God bless them for their compassion, strengthen them in their ministry, and guide them as they continue to walk with the families in the difficult journey ahead.
Lord, hear us.
Offertory Gifts – presented by parents Bernie and Martin.
Communion Reflection – read by Sharon.
Eulogy – After Mass the eulogy will be delivered in the cemetery by Conleth.
ENDS