SWORDS SAY SO LONG TO AVRIL

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Contributor / 2009-06-12 11:03:57

MOVING

By Robin Kiely
THE town of Swords came to a standstill last Tuesday morning as the funeral of Avril Flanagan took place in St Colmcille’s Church. Members of the congregation came with yellow and white flowers and lit 100 candles to symbolise the energy and life of Avril. Those attending wore deliberately upbeat colours. Swords, located beside Dublin Airport, in the north of county Dublin, is still in shock following the brutal murder of the 20-year-old in Cabo Roig last month, and united in grief to pay its last respects. The Flanagan family moved to Orihuela Costa four years ago, having sold their home in Broadmeadows, a quiet neighbourhood near the town centre, and hundreds of neighbours and friends attended the service.

Family friend, Brian Rafferty, who worked with Avril’s father Gerry at the public transport company, Dublin Bus, described the ‘numbness and devastation’ felt in the Swords estate where Abbey had grown up. ‘I’ve known Avril since the day she was born,’ Mr Rafferty said. ‘Gerry is my best pal and I go back and forward to Spain all the time. ‘The family lived around the corner for 30 years and I worked with Gerry for 25 years. I have known him and Barbara since we were teenagers. ‘The whole family are absolutely shattered. Everyone who knows her in Swords is devastated, absolutely gutted. All of their friends, and believe me they have many, are all deeply distressed.’

Avril, known as ‘Abbey’, had been living in Cabo Roig for the past three years. Her body was repatriated on Sunday evening (7th June)and she was buried in Balgriffin cemetery, four miles from Swords. ‘She was a hip-hop champion and a karate champion and represented Ireland,’ Mr Rafferty added. ‘She was very outgoing. The day after she was due to come home, she was going to sign up for a college course.

‘She had taken a couple of years out. To end a life so soon is an absolute tragedy. Nobody in their wildest dreams could have thought something like this could have happened.

Avril touched the lives of all those who met her, the ‘angel’ with a bright smile. She attended Loreto Secondary School in Swords, where she left an indelible mark. ‘It is with deep regret and sadness that the staff and school community of Loreto College learned of the tragic death of Avril and we extend our sympathy and prayers to her family and friends,’ principal Veronica McDermott said. ‘Avril was with us for six happy years until 2007. She certainly brought happiness with her, greeting everyone with a smile, teachers and peers alike. This is everyone’s memory of her. ‘Avril was gifted musically and in dance and she gave very generously of her time and talent to school life, with lunchtime concerts and many other performances.’

Despite being one of Ireland’s fastest growing towns, Swords remains a close-knit community. Avril’s murder has sent shock waves through every part of it.
Everyone knows someone who knew her, or had the privilege of knowing her themselves. Avril was a popular member of staff in the Boots chemist in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, the biggest retail outlet in the region. She also worked as a lounge girl in the Hawthorn Hotel, a small traditional venue on the town’s Main Street, known as ‘Swords Village’, before the family moved to Spain.

With a population of more than 40,000, Swords is often dubbed ‘Ireland’s smallest village’, but that merely emphasises how it has retained its community spirit despite its development, a trait very much in evidence around the town this week.

Friends and neighbours of the Flanagan family have set up a fund in Swords to help cover the cost of repatriation. Pledges and donations can be made to Michael Moriarty on 0035386-8141555 or geralda@gofree.indigo.ie, or Jim Mullally on 00353587-2922344 or shaymore@eircom.net.

Alternatively, donations can be made directly to the ‘Abbey’ account at AIB Swords, Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin, Ireland - a/c number 28216036, sort code 932523.

Tags: Avril, Cabo Roig,