The parish priest of Lisnaskea, Canon Joseph Mullin, who celebrated the funeral Mass for Peadar Phair (pictured) in Holy Cross last Thursday, told his family he was was acutely aware of the ‘huge pain and distress you face at the loss of a brother in such difficult circumstances’.

He commended faith in God.

“God knows about pain. He watched His Son He sent to save the world, He had to see him die in agony. So, He knows what it is to suffer, to grieve and to experience deep desolation.

“Our faith does tell us that, in spite of the darkness in life, the road will end in the triumph of light over darkness. That can happen. That will happen. The Lord rose from the dead to give us the promise of Resurrection.

“He did that for all of us and He gave that promise to each one of us.”

Earlier in his homily, Canon Mullin referred to Connie’s family and spoke of the impact the two deaths had had on the community.

“Over the years, we watch on the news and in films, serious and frightening events happening. We watch it all in a detached frame of mind. On television, it’s ‘Morse’ or ‘Midsomer’ and, by the end of the hour, the mystery is solved.

“But, isn’t it all so different when it’s a real life tragedy?

“We would have said about the events (in Maguiresbridge) on the 15th May: these things don’t happen here. They happen in other places far away from us, in huge, faceless cities, but not on a summer’s evening in the quiet gentleness of Maguiresbridge, in peaceful county Fermanagh.”

He went on: “But, sadly, the distressing events of  15th May did happen, and happened to our own people, two people, Connie and Peader are dead, in tragic circumstances, and one young man, Conor is traumatised.

“And, naturally, you are all gathered here in a state of shock and deep, deep sadness. The local area has been brought to a standstill. It is sad when any life is ended but, for lives to be ended in this way, is absolutely heartwrending.”

Continuing, he said that over and above the grief felt at the death of a loved one, there was the extra and anguished question, Why?

“Only God”, he said, “knows the whole story.

“We can speculate, we can wonder, we can theorise endlessly, analyse forever, but we do not actually know the details of why people do frightening things.

“We do not know what snapped inside Peader’s head.”

These answers, he said, all must await until the end of time when all the mysteries will be resolved.

“All we do know is this: violent actions do not solve anything. All they do is bring pain, devastation and utter destruction.

“In our own upset, all we can do is pray to God for the deceased.”

Addressing the chief mourners directly, he told them that, Lisnaskea, as a parish, would hope that other people’s support and prayers will ‘buoy you up and carry you along’.

“We must remember that the Lord has a heart full of love and mercy for each and every one of his children.

“We can all feel so helpless and angry in the face of tragedy. We wonder if we could have done or said anything that might have made a difference but, there are times when we must accept our own helplessness and our own fragility.”

He said it was comforting to remember that God did not do things our way.

“He has a capacity for love and forgiveness that goes far beyond that of us mere mortals.”