Mourning two Belfast boys
I JUST had the strangest and most heartbreaking weekend following the untimely and tragic death of a young family member.
I do not wish to intrude on my family’s grief by posting about it here except to tell you about the moments when my family’s grief crossed over Belfast’s mourning of Georgie Best.
My family member was a big Manchester United fan so there was some catharsis that his funeral and Georgie’s was being held on the same day. The florist where we ordered our wreath also prepared the floral tributes from Manchester United, Georgie Best’s family flowers, Tony Blair and the British Government as well as the Duke of York. That’s a bit of a big deal for a florist off the Falls Road.
While up home I stayed with a friend over in the Rosetta area of Belfast which is right beside Cregagh where Georgie grew up. At one stage on Friday evening we drove along the top of the street where his family home is and saw the crowd of people standing outside the house.
I am including some pics of the funeral cortege as it passed by Cregagh Road taken by my pal, the rest are my own shots.
I had to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to get over across town to where our funeral was happening and I did not wish to get caught up in the crowds expected to line the street for Georgie Best.
The funeral was organised early because it had to be finished early so the gravediggers could make it over to Roselawn Cemetery. It was all a bit surreal.
Then on Sunday before heading back to Dublin, we called up to Roselawn cemetery where Georgie was buried on Saturday to find hoards of people all coming to pay their last respects.
The cemetery laid out all the floral tributes so people could see them before calling to the grave. Among the floral tributes I photographed are ones from the IFA, Susan George, The Duke of York, Elton John and many football clubs. You can see all the pictures I have taken here and see some of the most interesting pictures in Flickr with the George Best tag here.
RIP to you both, you will be sadly missed and fondly remembered.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
Technorati tags: Technorati tags: Irishblogs Redmum George Best Best Ireland Georgie+Best
8 comments:
So sorry to hear of your bereavement. A young person's death is always even harder to bear.
Sorry to hear that. Thinking about you xx
So sorry to hear of your loss redmum, sending you love xx
My condolences to you and your family. A young death is particularly hard. It seems so unfair and unnatural.
Sorry to hear of your loss RM. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Sorry about your loss. I cannot imagine losing anyone else in my life, especially a child.
Red Mum - first time here and also very sorry about your loss...
Your pics of George's funeral are very evocative. Here in England there was plenty of fuss about the passing of George, but no real comprehension I think of the huge place he had in Belfast hearts...
Your reviews pick you out as a writer...looks like you're a bit of a photographer too!
Erm, a silly detail, but I'm surprised the florist does not laminate the printed cards so that they do not run in the rain or early morning dew.
It must be quite poignant to mark your family loss and celebrate a life in the shadow of the loss of another. I hope your family celebrations went OK and respectfully (gravediggers rushing off aside).
Best wishes.
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