A murdered mother of two who was found dead in her flat in Mallow, Co Cork, earlier this month was kind and likeable and had a creative flair which brought her solace amid the stuggles of her life, her funeral mass has heard.
The body of Paula Canty (31) was found in an upper storey flat in Bridewell Lane in Mallow on January 3rd. The native of Kinsale in Co Cork died just three days before she would have celebrated her 32nd birthday.
Fr Robert Young told mourners at the 11am requiem mass for Paula, in St John the Baptist Church in Kinsale, that that no parent should have to suffer the loss of a child.
“To lose a son or daughter is a particular kind of grief. It is not the natural scheme of things that a son or daughter would die before their parent. It is certainly not the natural scheme of things that a parent would have to experience the murder of a son or daughter.
"It is heartbreaking to think about it and to see you carrying your pain. We want to acknowledge your grief your sadness your heart break.”
Fr Young said that it was a time for remembering all of the special qualities of the deceased.
“We want to thank God for Paula. Yes she had her struggles, she had her difficulties, she had her wrongdoing. Which one of us don’t?
"She had a kind heart. She had good nature as has been shown with the (offertory) symbols. She loved cooking. She was good at it. She was very artistic. She was gentle. She was likeable. She was courteous.
"On the Rip (condolence) notices I saw a lovely prayer. A prayer that said ‘Paula may you have a bed in heaven.’And that is our prayer too today for Paula. Yes there is sadness there is heartbreak it is awful. But our prayer is that Paula may now rest in peace.”
Fr Young also stated that he was offering his deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased on behalf of the entire parish of Kinsale.
“To mother Sinead, Dad Paul, Paula’s daughters Alyisha and Aoibhe, to her sisters and brothers, Darragh, Donna, Latoya, David and Rianna, to her uncles and aunts we offer our deepest sympathy.”
The offertory gifts were brought to the altar by “two special people” Paula’s children Alyihsa and Aoibhe, her siblings, her friends Susan and Niamh, her uncle Brian, and her cousin Cabrini who also recited a offertory reflection at the closing of the mass.
Offertory symbols included Paula’s art work which gave a glimpse of her ‘inner life’, a cook book as she enjoyed making nutritious and tasty meals, flowers served as a reminder of her time as an aspiring florist, family photographs, a make up set and a tracksuit.
Paula is survived by her mother Sinead, her children Alyisha and Aoibhe and her siblings Darragh, Donna, Latoya, David and Rianna. Following the mass Paula was laid to rest at St Patrick's Cemetery, Nohoval.
Meanwhile, a postmortem examination was carried out on Ms Canty on January 4th at Cork University Hospital by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster. The investigation was upgraded to murder following the completion of the post mortem.
Joseph Butler (42) of the Belfry, Bridewell Lane, Cork appeared before Midleton District Court on Thursday charged with the murder contrary to common law of Ms Canty.
Paula’s mother Sinead has set up a memorial fund in honour of her “beautiful” daughter Paula.
“The organisation I have chosen to be the beneficiary of the funds is Street Angels in Cork who provides a brilliant service to all those in need.
Our beautiful, kind Paula has gained her wings this week. She was taken from us way too soon in a sudden and tragic way without any goodbyes. Paula was looking forward to a fresh, bright new year start with her loving family and with her good friends.
The community, our family, relatives, neighbours, and a large circle of friends are just heartbroken.
We ask if you wish to donate to Paula's Memorial Fund please do so to "Street Angels" organisation in Cork, which is close to our hearts.
We thank you from the bottom of our heart for all your support, thoughts and love shown to us throughout this very hard time.”
Over €3,000 has been raised to date. Donations can be made to Street Angels Go Fund Me page at Paula Canty Memorial Fund.
Mourners at the mass were asked to donate to the Street Angels Fund or to the Coolmine Treatment Centre in lieu of flowers.
