THE FUNERAL OF Nóra Quoirin has taken in the Belfast church where she was baptised.
Principal celebrant Fr Edward O’Donnell told mourners at St Brigid’s Church this afternoon that the 15-year-old “gifted others with immeasurable love and joy”.
“Nóra was very special. She brought so much joy to Meabh and Sebastien, to her sister, Innes, and to Maurice, her brother, and to those of the wider family circle,” Fr O’Donnell said.
Nóra Quoirin went missing on Sunday 4 August after arriving at The Dusun resort near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
Her disappearance led to a 10-day search in the jungle that involved hundreds of people and came to a tragic end when her body was discovered.
Fr O’Donnell, who officiated mass alongside Nóra’s granduncle Fr Pat Kelly, told mourners at St Brigid’s Church that Nóra was “gentle and innocent”.
“She, as we all know, depended greatly on others but, Nóra in turn, gifted others with immeasurable love and joy; before such an ability we can only feel gratitude.
“Today we return to St Brigid’s united in the unspeakable pain of Nóra’s tragic death, united too in wordless sympathy for Nóra’s family. I ask myself, as surely you must do, ‘What is the meaning of this terrible pain that has been inflicted on Nóra’s family?’”
He continued: “We have, have we not, found ourselves wondering if God is good and has for us the love that no human love can match, why then is there such suffering in our world?
“We do not understand, and our stumbling words are so terribly inadequate.”
Nóra had lived in London and was the daughter of French-Irish parents Sebastien and Meabh Quoirin before her death.
An autopsy showed that the 15-year-old likely starved and died of internal bleeding after about a week in the jungle, with no signs of abduction or foul play.
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister conveyed her condolences at that time and said it was a “tragic thing to happen”.
Shortly after her death, Nóra’s mother Meabh and father Sebastien paid tribute to their daughter in a statement released through the Lucie Blackman Trust:
“Nóra is at the heart of our family. She is the truest, most precious girl and we love her infinitely. The cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable. Our hearts are broken,” the family said.
We will always love our Nóra.
Paying tribute to the 15-year-old at St. Brigid’s this afternoon, Fr O’Donnell said during his homily:
“We who grieve for Nóra hold her memory in love believing that all the bonds of love and affection which bind us together throughout our lives do not unravel with death.”
“Meabh and Sebastien, Innes and Maurice, remember Nóra’s love for you, and know that she still loves you, and as you continue to love her, love one another.”
Nóra’s remains were cremated earlier this morning.
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