Finbar Cafferkey, the 45-year-old Irishman killed near battle-torn Bakhmut last month, died along with two comrades after they came under “heavy and sustained” mortar fire, his father, Tom, revealed at an emotional remembrance ceremony on Friday evening.
Mr Cafferkey told mourners and sympathisers at a packed function in Ted Lavelle’s pub, Achill Island, that efforts were continuing to find his eldest son’s remains so they could be repatriated.
“We’ll bring him home, le cúnamh Dé,” he said in a voice heavy with emotion.
Large queues formed outside the pub – once run by Finbar’s parents – to sympathise with the military volunteer’s parents, Tom and Celine, his brothers Eamon and Colm, his sisters Maeve and Orla and extended family.
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Among the hundreds who attended was a group of about 40 Ukrainians, now living in Westport. They carried a large wreath which proclaimed: “To our hero, Finbar Cafferkey. From all Ukrainians.”
Finbar’s mother, Celine, spoke of his passion for the many and varied activities in which he was involved. “His actions were propelled by things he felt deeply in his heart,” Mrs Cafferkey said. “If he felt the truth of something, he followed his heart.
“But to me he was my gasúr. I loved him for a lot of reasons but as he grew older I just loved him for his steadfast honouring of the truth and how he defended people who were marginalised, wherever that might happen.
“He wasn’t limited by borders or flags or by the colour of skin. He had a heart for all humanity, He just didn’t die with courage. He lived with courage.”
After a moving rendition of Raglan Road by her daughter, Finbar’s sister, Maeve, spoke, expressing gratitude to those “who led the way for Finbar to live life the way he chose to”.
She also expressed gratitude for the writers who influenced her brother, the friends who loved him, the people who shaped him and his thinking, and the causes that called him.
Mrs Cafferkey continued by saying: “I want to offer our compassion to anyone suffering injustice or oppression and also to the Ukrainian people whose struggle is continuing and to anyone whose voice is quietened. May courage and kindness overcome fear and hurt.”
A recording of a song written by Finbar Cafferkey – a talented musician – The Lovely Glengad Strand in support of the Shell to Sea campaign was played to the packed gathering.
Members of Achill GAA Club, of which Finbar’s brother, Colm, is an official, were prominent among the large gathering. Large crowds continued to offer their condolences after the memorial.