![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/665a8ef5-81d5-4c08-8073-66c7751ac0e9.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMatthew was the son of Ciara, Callum and Eden, loving brother of Tyler, Olivia, Amelia and Oliver, and the adored grandson of Anne (n\u00e9e Murphy) and the late William (Billy) Breen.<\/p>\n
Matthew had been attending St Joseph’s National School in Arklow before the family recently relocated to Rathnew, and speaking at his funeral mass on Friday, principal Corrina Bailey said his departure \u201cleft a space at St Joseph\u2019s that could never be filled\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, November 6, Matthew broke his arm in two places and was transferred to hospital by ambulance. He was sent home that same day and arrangements were made for him to attend Crumlin Hospital on Friday, November 7, for surgery.<\/p>\n
He became unwell while in hospital and was given tablets and steroids, but continued vomiting. He was provided with a second dose of steroids and was having difficulty breathing, but he was discharged from the hospital, and was due to attend an appointment in Tallaght Hospital to see a lung doctor on Tuesday, November 11. However, on the evening of Monday, November 12, Matthew\u2019s condition deteriorated rapidly and he was having difficulty in catching his breath.<\/p>\n
He stopped breathing and was treated by local first responders before being transported to Crumlin Hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma on life support. Matthew sadly passed away on Monday, November 17, with his devastated family by his bedside.<\/p>\n
The funeral service was concelebrated by Fr Michael Murphy of Avoca Parish and Fr Gerry Deegan of Wicklow Parish. St Joseph\u2019s NS principal Corrina Bailey spoke of the undeniable mark Matthew had left on the school community during his time attending the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs principal of St Joseph\u2019s I have the privilege of seeing our pupils grow and learn and bringing their unique light to the school. Earlier this year when Matthew moved to St Patrick\u2019s NS in Wicklow Parish he left a space at St Joseph\u2019s that could never filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
She recalled Matthew as a wonderful pupil whose bright smile could light up a room. He took great joy performing at the Arklow Music Festival and was always an eager participant in school outings to the panto and local farms.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The late Matthew Breen aged 8.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the card games which Matthew always made sure was played by the rules. He had a real sense of fairness,\u201d added Ms Bailey.<\/p>\n
Matthew returned to St. Joseph\u2019s Church in May of this year for his first communion with his former classmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really special to welcome Matthew back to St Joseph\u2019s for his communion with all his pals. He loved all the fuss made and everyone saying how great he looked and how much he had grown. He was so proud and we were so proud of him as well,\u201d said Ms Bailey.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cMatthew was a great listener in class and just loved school, loved his friends and loved his teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was delighted when he was made a line-leader at St Joseph\u2019s which \u201cmeant he got to greet everyone on the corridor with a big friendly hello\u201d.<\/p>\n
Matthew was also a wonderful older brother and took his younger brother Tyler under his wing when he began starting school at St Joseph\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe walked Tyler to class every morning announcing that he was looking after Tyler so he wouldn\u2019t get lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother Ciara had also attended the school in her youth, along with her brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s is like we have lost a member of our family,\u201d said Ms Bailey. \u201cWe know the school community stands behind you.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis memory, that light of day, will shine on in our school. His spirit will continue to guide us and bring Matthew\u2019s story. Rest in peace dear Matthew. You will always be in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friends and family members also brought a series of gifts up to the altar representing the things that Matthew loved most in life. They included a \u2018Matthew our Hero\u2019 t-shirt worn by all of his school pals.<\/p>\n
Fr Murphy said a family photo was one of the other funeral gifts because \u201cfamily was so important to Matthew\u201d, while a toy was also brought to the altar because \u201cplaying with al the family and friends was so important to Matthew\u201d.<\/p>\n
Another of the funeral pics included a photograph of his youngest brother Oliver, as \u201cMatthew was delighted with the fact that he had a new brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other gifts included a Liverpool jersey and a football.<\/p>\n
A family member also took to the altar to read out a poem dedicated to Matthew\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n
My sweet little boy,<\/p>\n
It broke my heart to lose you,<\/p>\n
But you did not go alone.<\/p>\n
A part of me went with you,<\/p>\n
The day God called you home.<\/p>\n
A million times I\u2019ve thought of you.<\/p>\n
A million times I\u2019ve cried,<\/p>\n
If loving you could have saved you,<\/p>\n
You would have never died.<\/p>\n
Forgive me Lord, I\u2019ll always weep,<\/p>\n
For my son I loved so much,<\/p>\n
But yet I could not keep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew was the son of Ciara, Callum and Eden, loving brother of Tyler, Olivia, Amelia and Oliver, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,8549,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-192815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-latest-news","17":"tag-latestnews","18":"tag-main-news","19":"tag-mainnews","20":"tag-myles-buchanan","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115588533430832735","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}