'Life is precious' - parish priest tells mourners at funeral for Cookstown crash victim to be careful on the roads
A parish priest has pleaded with mourners attending the funeral of a Cookstown woman killed in the Moy horror crash at the weekend, to be careful on the roads “as life is precious”.
Rev Fr Lawrence Boyle described mother-of-one Laura Hoy-Henry as caring, faithful, supportive, and a defender of people close to her.
Speaking at her Requiem Mass in Holy Trinity Church, Cookstown, on Thursday, Fr Boyle said Laura’s life was devoted to her family, friends and supporting others.
"She jumped in when people were cornered - like a boxer. She fought for justice to be done and to be seen to be done,” he said.
For anyone who gets that knock on the door, or call when a tragedy happens, it sends shivers done the spine, he continued.
“There are no words that can provide the comfort needed for such a tragedy,” said Fr Boyle.
“We never think that it will be us that will get that call, that knock on the door. I often wonder, in this church which has seen many tragedies, when will the next knock be.”
Referring to road deaths in the past week at Moy, Ballygawley and Donegal, Fr Boyle said every tragedy has to be a learning curve.
“Life is precious, time is precious and each of us are precious. The message is to be careful on our roads, to be careful in life, because we are precious in the eyes of God,” he said.
Following the service, Laura was laid to rest in Forthill Cemetery, Cookstown.