Talented hurler Adam Kirwan remembered at funeral mass as ‘the brightest star’

Adam Kirwan (22), from Mountrath, Co Laois, died in the single vehicle collision in the early hours of Thursday in Thurles, Co Tipperary.

The talented hurler’s sister, Marie, told his funeral mass at St Fintan’s Church, Mountrath that from the moment Adam “could walk, hurling was the most important thing.”

“You lived everyday for the hurl and the small ball,” Marie said, of her brother. “You kept us busy and on the road, up and down the country. Your dream was to play county and that you did for many a year.”

Marie paid a moving tribute to the trainee teacher, who was about to start working in a classroom. She told mourners her brother had never once dreaded going to school as a child, as others did.

Adam had, she said, “walked out that door,” carrying his hurling helmet and smiling.

From there, her brother had collected medals with ease for hurling throughout his sporting career.

And he’d found a passion for the Irish language and Irish dancing too. But in the end, Adam had decided he wanted to teach Irish to children.

He was training to be a teacher at Mary Immaculate College (MIC) in Thurles, Co Tipperary and he’d found a natural home there, mourners heard, as the college was a passionate home for hurling too.

“Adam, I sit here writing this in pure disbelief, that our world has been taken from us way too soon,” Marie said.

“If only love could bring you back you’d have never left. To say we’re broken hearted is an understatement. But it’s the memories we all have that will get us through this. Memories we will cherish forever.

“That day at the kitchen sink when mammy and daddy told me we were getting a baby, our world lit up. The day you entered this world, I had no doubt you were an Adam. ‘A’ for adored, ‘D’ for devoted, ‘A’ for amazing and ‘M’ for magic.”

“You used to say ‘I’d like to be a teacher.’ But as the Leaving Cert got closer, you realised the work that had to be done, would mean your hurl would have to take a back seat.

“That wasn’t long changing. You soon managed a way around this and you landed a place at MIC Thurles, where hurling was the highlight too, bringing you to All Ireland glory.”

Marie said Trumera GAA would “never know how much it meant to Adam,” to wear the red and white jersey of his team.

“Adam, he loved it,” she said. “Biased we are,” Marie added, saying her brother was her family’s Henry Shefflin.

“In everything you did, you gave it your all,” she said. “Goodbye but not forever, goodbye but not the end, goodbyes are just we miss you until we meet again.”

Marie read a poem a friend had written for her brother and this was greeted by lengthy applause from mourners.

In the poem the young man was referred to as owning “the heart of a lion.” Later, another poem was read, referring to Adam as the ‘Trumera Tiger,” for his prowess on the field.

Adam’s former teacher from Mountrath Community School, Liam O’Neill, told mourners he’d felt “lucky” to have known Adam.

The community was, he added, “enveloped by sadness and grief, the likes of which we’ve seldom seen before.”

The former teacher described a young man who concentrated his life on hurling, his team and his family.

Adam had, he added, been “the brightest star,” and someone “who comes along once in a generation.”

“He had an ability to spread happiness wherever he went,” Mr O’Neill said. “He had love for everyone. He loved his family intensively…

“We were delighted he wanted to be a teacher… He would have been an inspirational teacher and a huge addition to any school community”

Mr O’Neill recalled seeing a photograph of Adam dancing as a young child.

He said: “He looked really well but somehow he might have looked happier with a hurl in his hand. He was the light of our lives… I know we will find his loss very hard to process.”

Hundreds attended the funeral and hundreds also gathered for Adam’s wake. Mourners heard how it had taken hours for all those who wanted to pay their respects to do so, at the player’s home.

Adam is survived by his parents Lourda and Paul and his sister, Marie and a large extended family.

One of Adam’s favourite songs, ‘Caledonia’ a Scottish folk ballad, by Dougie Maclean, was played on acoustic guitar in memory of the young man.