Emili Roman, the little girl who lost her life in a swimming accident just days before her eighth birthday, was remembered on Saturday at her funeral mass as a happy and caring child who brought joy into the lives of her parents and siblings.
Fr Aidan Cremen told mourners at the funeral mass for Emili that everyone’s thoughts and prayers were with her grieving parents, Martha and Slawomir, and older sister Inga, as well as her twin brother Jeremy at this time of great grief.
“We pray that God’s love will surround you today and give you the strength to face each new day,” he said.
Emili, from Crosshaven in Cork Harbour, lost her life when she drowned during a visit to nearby Fountainstown beach on September 5th and over the past week, the people of Crosshaven and Carrigaline have rallied around to support the family in their time of need.
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Mourners filed into the Church of Our Lady and St John in Carrigaline behind Emili’s family as Inga led the small white coffin as it was wheeled up the aisle, while Martha and Slawomir walked behind, with Jeremy holding his father’s hand as the family carried a photo of their beloved daughter.
Among the mourners were many of Emili’s classmates from Templebreedy National School, filing in with their parents, most, if not all, cuddling soft toys such as teddies and monkeys that emphasised yet again just how young they were and how young was the dear friend that they had lost.
Joining with them were Inga’s classmates from Coláiste Muire Réalt na Mara secondary school in Crosshaven in their blue and grey school uniforms, as the pews quickly filled up before Fr Cremen waited for the final strains of Tom Odell’s Another Love to fade.
“The people of Crosshaven are gathered here today in shock and sadness as we celebrate this mass for Emili - our hearts go out to Slawomir and Martha and Inga and Jeremy who live in this beautiful part of paradise but whose hearts are broken,” he said.
Fr Cremen said that Emili had enjoyed living in Crosshaven with her family and they were devoted to her and, along with her siblings, she was the centre of family life only for that to end tragically when she was taken from them earlier this week.
“Whether our lives are long or short, all we can hope for is to experience love and it must be some comfort that Emili was surrounded by love all her life, the centre of attention, all the buzz of family life, all the interactions with her brother and sister, her devoted parents who wanted nothing but the best for her.”
Recalling that Emili had been baptised in this same Church of Our Lady and St John less than eight years earlier, Fr Cremen said Emili’s heartbroken and tearful family should know that when she died and entered God’s Kingdom in heaven, she got to see the great love that they had for her.
“Even though you are sad and heartbroken today, everybody here has happy memories of Emili, a happy, joyful, contented child, sensitive and caring and appreciative of everyone and the memories Emili has taken with her are happy, joyful, beautiful memories – that’s how people remember her.”
There were poignant scenes as soprano Sarah Burke first sang the old gospel song This Little Light of Mine, I’m Going to Let it Shine before many of the children joined in when she sang Edelweiss from The Sound of Music. It seemed everyone in the church was singing in unison.
“Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever,” they sang, inspiring an aching sadness as many mourners remembered the image of the smiling little girl with a garland of flowers in her hair in the photo that the family had made available to the media after her death.
As the funeral mass concluded, Fr Cremen said that the family were simply too sad to speak with mourners who may wish to sympathise with them, but the family had asked him to thank everyone who helped on the day of the tragedy and everyone who sent messages of support since then.
After mass, Emili’s parents and her siblings watched tearfully as her remains were placed in the hearse and Slawomir placed a photo of his daughter behind her coffin before they took Emili to her final place of rest at St John’s Cemetery, Ballinrea on the outskirts of Carrigaline.
