‘He was a sparkle in the eyes of his family’

Diarmuid died following a tragic road accident at Railway Street in Lisburn last Wednesday afternoon.

Hundreds attended the Requiem Mass at St Peter’s Church on Wednesday afternoon, where Fr David Delargy, described the Crewe Hill Road boy as simply a ‘wee man’s man.’

Fr Delargy said that Diarmuid, a twin to younger brother Cormac was someone who grew into ‘a wonderful wee boy’ who developed a love for machinery.

“Taking the lead from his father and his uncle Brian he developed a passion for diggers and farm machinery and he seemed to like nothing better than changing into his overalls and getting covered in mud,” he said.

“He came to know all about tractors and the various attachments that go on the back

of tractors.

“He was a real wee man’s man, relishing the rough and tumble, but also by nature, affectionate; quick to say ‘I love you’ and always happy to get cuddles from uncles and aunts.

“What a wonderful little son he was - a great wee man. Over the past few days

his aunts have been telling me how, when he was excited about something, his eyes would open really wide and sparkle. He spoke with his eyes. He was a sparkle – he was the sparkle in their eyes.”

He said that the tragic accident in Lisburn last week changed everything.

“Such a simple thing it was, so quick,” he said. “It all happened in the blink of an eye. It was every parent’s nightmare - every motorist’s nightmare. Many of us, I expect, will be able to say, ‘there but for the grace of God go I’.”

He praised his parents Tina and Barry, as well as the doctors and nurses who cared for him at the Children’s Hospital for Sick Children where he passed away at the weekend.

“His death comes as a bitter blow to us all, to his young classmates and the

teachers and all the staff at Ballymacward Primary School, to his grannies,

his aunts, uncles and cousins, but most of all to you, Tina and Barry,” he continued. “Perhaps there are some here who’ve gone through what you are now experiencing. They know how you feel, for they have felt the same grief, the same anguish of soul, the same numbness, that heaviness in the heart that won’t go away.”

The burial took place afterwards at Blaris Cemetery.

Diarmuid is survived by his parents Tina and Barry, brothers Cormac and John James and sister Orlaith.