Heartbreaking scenes as Niamh Campbell is laid to rest

ALWAYS SMILING ?Niamh Campbell is pictured with her boyfriend of seven years Calvin Higgins at a recent function.

Heartbreaking scenes in Taugheen as Niamh Campbell is laid to rest


Michael Commins

A heavy August shower gave way to bright sunshine and a fleece speckled sky as a south westerly breeze fluttered gently across the peaceful landscape of Mayo. Outside St Michael’s Church in Taugheen, the overflow congregation closed their umbrellas as the day lifted and summer rolled out its welcome one more time.
It was hard to fathom that the beauty and grandeur in nature could be in such direct contrast with the mood and sadness of the occasion, the farewell words and thoughts for 23-year-old Niamh Campbell from the parish who died in a road accident near Knock Airport the previous Sunday morning.
It was a tragedy that touched the hearts of so many on a day when several of the Campbell family and friends were, like thousands more from Mayo, en route to Croke Park for the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Niamh, ever loyal to her cherished profession of hairdressing, was making her way to an early morning appointment in ‘Attractions’ in Charlestown when the accident took place at Lurga.
Her dad, Padraig, making the journey to Croke Park with his neighbours Ger and Bridie McHugh and their son Darren, heard the tragic news from back home when he took a phone call when they were approaching Enfield.

Spirited young lady
Described as a ‘spirited young lady with ability to burn’, Niamh had her sights firmly fixed on a career in hairdressing after finishing her years in Mount St Michael, Claremorris. She studied hair-dressing in Sligo College and quickly made her mark. Her creativity saw her win a major award at a show in Ballsbridge, Dublin. She had no problem in attracting attention within the profession after that.
As is the norm with today’s younger generation, Niamh had part-time jobs from her days in Transition Year in Mount St Michael. Up to her untimely passing, she did a regular Monday and Tuesday shift in Higgins’s Daybreak in Claremorris. Niamh always loved to mingle with people.
On Tuesday evening, a huge queue of people formed outside Gilligan’s Funeral Home in Claremorris, stretching all the way out to the Ballyhaunis road corner and down Main Street to the Square. The poignancy of the occasion and the outreach of the Campbell, Morris and Higgins families was clear for all to see.
Local Taugheen priest Fr James Quinn, speaking during the concelebrated Requiem Mass, referred to the impact Niamh’s passing had on the community.
“We are aware of the pain ye are all going through today but, in time, ye will find comfort in the groundswell and goodwill and goodness of the community,” he told the family and congregation.

Passion for life
Aiden Campbell, uncle of Niamh, did a short reflection at the end of the Mass. He spoke of Niamh’s passion for life and her devotion to the things that were important to her. He thanked the Campbell and Morris family circles for their great support and also Brian, Caroline and Chantelle Higgins and family who were such a part of Niamh’s young life.
Her coffin was carried shoulder high down the aisle of St Michael’s Church and out into the Mayo sunlight, fronted by her father Padraig and Calvin Higgins, her boyfriend of seven years. Niamh’s mother Maura (nee Morris) and sisters Aoife and Caoimhe, the extended family circle, and her great friend Claire Keaveney from Claremorris, followed close behind, the weight of recent days heavy on their minds and in their hearts.
The community formed a long guard of honour on either side of the road prior to the hearse and funeral cortege departing for the Crematorium in Dublin. A Mayo flag, resplendent in the fresh light of a western noon, flew at half mast in the village, anchoring hearts and minds to the land we love, the place we call home.
Niamh’s grandmother, Bridie Campbell, took her place in her wheelchair in the guard of honour, raising her hand slightly in a gentle farewell to her grandchild and godchild as the hearse rolled slowly by. There are times when you just can’t hold back the tears.
Farewell, Niamh.