Shannon schoolboy Dylan Cody Coleman, 10, has performed five or six miracles by giving others “new life and hope” by donating his organs.
These were the words Fr Michael Geraghty, co-parochial priest of Shannon, paid tribute to “my dear child” Dylan at the end of his funeral Mass at a packed Mary Immaculate Church in Shannon.
Dylan died on Wednesday after sustaining injuries in a tragic car accident in Shannon last Sunday. It was the day after his mother, Laura, gave birth to her new baby brother, Shane.
On Sunday, Laura cradled six-day-old baby Shane in her arms as she walked behind Dylan's white coffin into the church as Liverpool FC's hymn 'You'll Never Walk Alone' played at the beginning of the funeral mass. I walked down the aisle.
Dylan's small coffin was draped in the colors of Liverpool. The packed church then heard “Why We Love Dylan,” a poignant eulogy that her sister Zoe had put together while in hospital that week.
Zoe said she loved Dylan as her relatives read it to mourners. “Because he's the best, because he helps me when I'm hurting, and because he cares about us,'' and because he's so funny,'' he read to me, he He annoys his father with his eccentric ways. ”
“We just love him,” Zoe wrote.
At Mass, mourners wore jersey tops and different socks to remember the little boy, per his family's wishes.
Jerseys presented as symbols of Dylan's life at the start of the mass included a Liverpool top, an Ireland rugby top and Dylan's blue Shannon Town football jersey.
Other gifts included an Xbox controller, binoculars used to view planes, Legos, and two small stuffed animals.
“Dylan's accident and subsequent death has undoubtedly brought closure to this parish,” said Fr Tom Whelan, co-priest of Shannon parish.
“It's as if a dark cloud has descended over the Shannon and people are definitely speechless and a huge sense that we just want to do something is evident here today and every day since.
“All we want to do is do something to help, but unfortunately we can't change the reality that exists now.
He talked about when he attended Dylan's school. “There is a tremendous sense of shock, sadness and loss in this community. Grief is present everywhere, but it was especially felt during my week at St. Tra's, Dylan's school.”
“I just think of the care and dedication that all of our staff show to the students in their care, which is so evident at St. Taura’s and all the schools in Shannon Diocese. , they have very close bonds with the children in their care.”
“Indeed, when I visited St Taura's, the tears in the eyes of many of the visiting teachers said it all. Their hearts are with Garry and Laura and the entire family.”
Father Whelan said Dylan was a very normal, very loving child and that “there was something very caring about him.”
He said: “He had an approachable side to him. He was a loving child and was very well-regarded at school.”
Father Whelan revealed that there had been a discussion about organ donation in Dylan's class recently.
He said: “When Dylan got home that day, that's what he talked about with his family. It was really at the top of his agenda that day and he made sure to say he wanted to be an organ donor. Sad. Particularly, no one thought it would happen.” It happens very quickly. ”
“But as an organ donor, Dylan gave life to so many people. This is very important to his family and they would encourage everyone to think seriously about organ donation.”
“It was his family who knew Dylan best and it is his parents, Garry and Laura, who will forever have the most beautiful memories of him,” Fr Whelan said.
He said the family would like to thank all the support they have received from the Shannon community, and in particular the support of the Air Ambulance Service last Sunday, An Garda Síochána and all the healthcare workers, including staff at Temple Street Hospital. He added that he is doing so. .
Dylan's body was later buried in the nearby Iluanmana cemetery.
