Why Over 300 People Attended Funeral for Woman With No Remaining Family

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a woman who was left with no next of kin, as a community came together to give her a final farewell.

Mary Regan died aged 89 on November 29, one year after the death of her beloved partner Fred.

Her four siblings: Paddy, Con, Patricia and Jerry, had gone before her, according to funeral notice website RIP.ie, where messages of condolence have been rolling in.

Regan, who is from Ireland, was originally from County Cork but lived for years in the town of Carlow, where local Facebook page Carlow Death Notices shared her passing, along with a plea: “Let’s not send Mary off from Carlow alone.”

Funeral director Rory Healy wrote on 2 December: “Unfortunately, since the passing of Mary’s partner just over a year ago she has had no next of kin and also didn’t have many visitors to her in the nursing home, only the great care and attention shown by the staff of Hillview.”

“Mary lived in Carlow happily for a number of years and will tomorrow return to her native West Cork to be laid to rest with the members of her family that have gone before her,” he said.

He pleaded with people to spare some time to attend her funeral, as “it would be great to see that a lady who lived to be nearly 90 years will get a farewell from her adopted town of Carlow by the people of Carlow.”

And the community responded in their droves. According to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, more than 300 people arrived at Askea Church in Carlow to pay their respects to Regan before she returned to her final resting place in West Cork, with a photograph showing a packed church during the ceremony.

Healy told RTÉ radio’s The Ray D’Arcy Show that he had walked into the church expecting around a dozen people, but got “a huge sense of humanity and community … seeing that there was this big crowd for Mary.”

His Facebook post, which had sparked the gathering, gained over 800 likes and hundreds of comments from people who had attended or were simply moved by the gesture.

One user wrote: “Mary had a really lovely send off this morning.

“The priest commented that there was more people in the church than the average funeral which shows how many people this message reached. What a lovely gesture from the undertaker. RIP Mary.”

Another said the “kindness of Rory & all at Healys Funeral Home is to be commended,” while one shared Regan had been long been a friend, who she visited often and would be attending the funeral, writing: “Rest in peace dear friend.”

And as one wrote: “Rest in Peace Mary. What a kind funeral undertaker—I hope Mary had a lovely mass and celebration of her life this morning.”

Newsweek has contacted Rory Healy via Carlow Death Notices for comment on this story.