Ashling Murphy's heartbroken family paid tribute to their "beautiful" daughter in emotional scenes after her funeral on Tuesday.
It came after Ashling's boyfriend bravely told hundreds of mourners at her graveside that the school teacher is his soulmate and “is the greatest love” of his life.
There were heartbreaking scenes as Ryan Casey was held up and supported by family members as he found the strength to express his love for his girlfriend of five years.
Minutes after Ashling Murphy was buried, Mr Casey took to a microphone at Lowertown cemetery and said: “Ashling was so much more to me than a girlfriend, she was my soulmate, she is my soulmate, she will always be my soulmate.
“She is the greatest love of my life.
“I will cherish the last five years we spent together my entire life.
“I hope that someday, God willing, we can be reunited once more and continue the great plans we had made for each other.
“Goodbye for now but not forever darling, as you will live on in all of our hearts and memories.”
Throughout the funeral mass, pictures of the couple appeared on the live stream link, watched by people around the world.
Mr Casey said Ashling “was in fact our shining light” and said it was “simply not possible to explain what Ashling meant to myself or her family or friends in these few brief words.”
He said: “She loved her mum Kathleen, her father Ray, her big sister Amy and her big brother Cathal, and all of her family and friends so much.
“She was always there, always willing to help anybody anywhere at any time and always put herself last.
“She had so many hobbies and talents which all combined to make her the incredible, loving and beautiful person we all were so lucky to know and loved to spend as much time with as possible.”
Tears flowed and family and friends of Ashling Murphy could be heard sobbing as her boyfriend finished up his speech and tightly hugged Ashling’s uncle, Des Murphy.
In Killoughey Community Centre, which is directly beside St Brigid’s Church where the funeral mass took place, crowds sat with the lights off, in darkness.
Mourners cried loudly as they watched Mr Casey and the burial which was live streamed and projected onto a screen in the hall.
A round of applause followed after Mr Casey’s speech as members of the community commended his courage.
At the graveyard, Ashling’s uncle, Des Murphy said he wanted to speak about his niece on behalf of the Murphy family.
He told of Ashling’s love of traditional music and said she was born into a “tight knit family.”
He said: “Her parents Ray and Kathleen watched with pride their youngest grow into a beautiful, confident and vibrant young woman who lived and loved life to the full.”
Des, brother of Ashling's father Ray, described Ashling’s love of fashion and how she was the baby of the family but a “role model” to her younger cousins.
He said: “So much has been written about Ashling but I want to say who she really was.
“God, she loved fashion.
“When another purchase arrived at the family home she would say to Cathal and Amy ‘I love clothes, but my wardrobe won’t close’.
“She loved nature and she loved animals.
“But she hated having to pull tyres up onto the silage pit.
“It was just not what a princess did.
“Her smile would light up any room as she would come bounding in with a plop into a recliner seat, have a cup of tea ready and catch up on all the ‘Sca’.”
He said his niece “never confined herself to any particular norm but was a friend to all who had the pleasure of knowing her.”
He ended his speech by saying that the entire Murphy family will “cherish” Ashling’s memory and keep her “legacy alive.”
He added: “Her partner of five years, Ryan, was the love of her life together and they had a clear vision of their future.
"Ryan’s family was like her second home.
“She was everything you could hope for in a young woman and she will never be out of our hearts.
“We will cherish her memory and keep alive her legacy and achievements in her short life.”
