Dad weeps as he remembers ‘gifted’ daughter Abbigael and her mum as they’re laid to rest

As 12 heartbroken men carried two white coffins to the waiting hearse, they made sure mother and daughter remained side-by-side to the very end.

The town of Swinford in Co. Mayo came to a standstill for the funerals of Aisling Moore and her beloved daughter Abbigael Tournie Moore yesterday.

There were no words, only tears, as children – whose parents only packed away their school uniforms just a week ago for the summer holidays – stood in their freshly-pressed blue jumpers, skirts and trousers, to bid a final farewell to their eight-year-old schoolmate.

The small children formed a guard of honour outside Our Lady Help of Christians Church as the hearse carrying mother and daughter passed by.

Aisling and Abbigael died after their car collided with a lorry on the slightly winding road between Foxford and Swinford on Tuesday evening.

Aisling’s brother Stephen yesterday told hundreds of relatives and friends gathered for the double funeral they owed it to his sister and niece to find a way to honour their joyful lives.

Fighting back tears, he said: ‘Grief is the price we pay for love and if grief is the price we pay for love then there’s no doubt Aisling and Abbigael were adored.’

‘It is very hard to describe in words the loss and grief that Arnaud [Abbigael’s father] and his family are suffering.’

‘Aisling and Abbigael’s love for each other and our love for them is so clearly evident here today in our grief and in our tears, in our mourning of the passing of two beautiful souls.’

He added: ‘We need to find somewhere, somehow, the courage to honour the memory of the lives of two extraordinary people and so it falls on us, the living, to go on and continue our lives, to mourn, yes, but to also rejoice what were exceptional lives filled with love and joy and happiness… and honour them in the way that they would want us to, with joy, with laughter. It is not going to be easy but it is our responsibility.’

Earlier, Abbigael’s father Arnaud wept as he told the hundreds of people, who packed the west of Ireland church to overflowing, about his love for his daughter.

‘Abbigael, I love you so much. I am immensely proud of you. I want to fill this emptiness with the memory of your laughter, your tender touch and your boundless energy.’

‘I can see you both now on the bright, sunny Enniscrone Beach… Aisling, you can be very proud and I am immensely grateful to you for the education you were able to provide for our daughter.’

‘Abbigael was gifted and that’s thanks to you. Abbigael, your smile forever etched in my heart is more powerful than this empty pain. Today I weep for those who will never have the privilege of ever knowing you. You had so much to give. Now you are both the brightest stars.’

The funeral heard that. just days before the tragic fatal road accident, Aisling and Abbigael enjoyed a few blissful, carefree, happy days at one of their favourite places, Enniscrone Beach, in Co. Sligo.

Parish priest Fr Dermot Meehan said if there was one word to describe Aisling and her daughter, it was ‘together’.

The mother and daughter are survived by Abbigael’s father Arnaud, her half-sister Aleksia, Aisling’s parents Eamon and Noreen, as well as Aisling’s brothers Eddie, Stephen and sister Anita, as well as Arnaud’s parents, Jean Yves and Michele.