Members of the Devil’s Disciples Motorcycle Club turned out in force for the funeral of their clubmate Christian Rasmussen, the biker killed in a crash on Dublin’s M50 last Sunday.
Club members clad in black leather jackets with the yellow-coloured insignia of the Devil’s Disciples carried Mr Rasmussen’s coffin, draped in the club’s black flag, into the Holy Family Church at Askea, Carlow, where they were welcomed by parish priest Fr Tom Little.
During the Mass a number of club members paid individual tributes to Mr Rasmussen, many of them referring to him by his nickname, “Danish Paddy”, and recalling his many acts of generosity to clubmates.
Mr Rasmussen, originally from Denmark, had been living in Carlow for more than 20 years. The principal mourners at his funeral were his father Soren, Soren’s partner Mary Quinlan and the extended Quinlan family.
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In an address, Soren Rasmussen thanked his partner Mary, who, he said, had been “like a mother to Christian”, along with “her beloved family”. He thanked the Garda, ambulance and fire brigade and a nurse who attended the crash, and his son’s friend Mick, who had been motorcycling with him at the time of the crash. “The whole thing is just so unreal and hard to comprehend,” he said.
Mr Rasmussen, whose younger son Henrik had predeceased Christian, also read a poem he had written for the two sons. It concluded: “So may your final ride be easy and your spirit not deterred, as you pick up your little brother on your way, and may your bike bring the two of you safely home.”
Fr Little told the congregation “one of the greatest gifts that God has given to us is the gift of being free. Freedom is something that Christian cherished, the freedom of fresh air and his motorbike.”
After the funeral the Devil’s Disciples invited motorcyclists to join them in escorting Mr Rasmussen’s funeral cortege to Newlands Cross crematorium. A social media post read: “After the funeral Mass on Friday morning, we will have the pleasure and honour of escorting our brother Danish Paddy on his final ride from the Holy Family Church, Askea, Co Carlow, to his final destination, Newlands Cross Crematorium, where we will part ways with our brother. Anyone who would like to join us on his last ride on your motorcycles is more than welcome.”
