THE late Jason Faulkner was laid to rest this Friday (April 24), a week on from his sister Scarlett. Led by a sulky, Mr Faulkner was brought to the church, rested in a gold casket inside a glass carriage driven by four white horses.
The same carriage brought his sister Scarlett to the same church a week beforehand.
Chief mourners shouldered Mr Faulkner’s casket into St Munchin’s Church along a blue carpet and past large heart-shaped photographs of him with loved ones.
Relatives and friends wore blue t-shirts with images of Mr Faulkner on the front and back as country music songs played in the background on a speaker.
Reading a loving tribute to her brother, Victoria Faulkner said: “Jason, you have left a big hole in each and every one of our hearts, you also touched many hearts of others in this world.”
“You were a good son, a brother, uncle, brother-in-law, nephew, cousin, and a friend to us all, and we will miss your beautiful smile,” she said.
Victoria Faulkner said her brother “had a heart of gold” and she would “cherish every memory we ever shared together”.
“You were a character, you always made us laugh, you were always up for a laugh.”
Ms Faulkner said her family believed that her late brother was in a place where he could “protect our beautiful sister Scarlett”.
“You are missed so much, you had a heart like no other. Jason, brother, everyone loved you and we will miss you, I just want you to know we all loved you dearly, you were the light in our home.”
“Our hearts are broken, you were Daddy’s boy and Mommy’s world.”
Canon Donal McNamara, parish priest at St Munchin’s Church, told mourners: “In the space of just a few days, the Faulkner family have endured the unbearable.”
“Without doubt, it feels too much, too heavy, and too unjust,” said Fr McNamara.
He thanked people for attending the funeral mass to support the Faulkner family “in their hour of need”.
Speaking to the Faulkner family, Fr McNamara said: “It is unimaginable to think we gather here today again a week since Scarlett’s funeral, you are mourning greatly, so greatly.”
He expressed hope that Jason and Scarlett “are not lost to each other”.
Fr McNamara told Jason and Scarlett’s parents, Mary and Banny Faulkner: “Your grief is beyond what most can comprehend, there are no words that can fix this, but you must remember that you are not alone, you are surrounded by your community that mourns with you, that remembers you in prayer, and that walks with you in the days ahead, when the silence may seem even heavier and more difficult to bear.”
“Your love has been changed, and wounded, but it remains, and may Jason and Scarlett now rest in peace.”
Another sister of Jason and Scarlett’s sang a love song to her two late siblings on the altar, and said: “Love you Jason and Scarlett, you were the heart and soul of our beautiful family.”
Gifts symbolising Mr Faulkner’s life were shown in a collage of photos placed on a billboard outside the church, including pictures of a Hugo Boss belt and aftershave, a Smirnoff vodka bottle, designer clothing and shoes, a cigarette box, a mobile phone, and gold jewellry.
Mr Faulkner was laid to rest in Meelick Cemetery, in south east County Clare.