{"id":577444,"date":"2026-07-09T20:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/577444\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T20:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:07:16","slug":"burying-a-child-disrupts-rhythm-of-the-world-malaga-crash-victim-michaela-newcombe-remembered-at-funeral-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/577444\/","title":{"rendered":"Burying a child \u2018disrupts rhythm of the world\u2019: Malaga crash victim Michaela Newcombe remembered at funeral \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A parent or grandparent forced to bury a child \u201cdisrupts the rhythm of the world\u201d, Fr Phil Gaffney told the funeral Mass of Michaela Newcombe at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old was killed in a car crash near M\u00e1laga in Spain last month along with her partner Mark McCullagh-Crichton, whose funeral also took place on Thursday, as well as his sister-in-law Amy McCullagh.<\/p>\n

Ian McCullagh, Amy\u2019s husband and Mark\u2019s brother, was seriously injured in the crash.<\/p>\n

The priest said the people of the town had been devastated that three young people had been taken at such a young age. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo Michaela\u2019s family and friends here this morning, we know your hearts are completely shattered,\u201d he said. \u201cPlease know that you\u2019re not walking through this darkness alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congregation heard how Michaela Newcombe\u2019s world revolved around her nanny Francie and grandad Eddie, with whom she had lived since she was three years old. The three had a \u201cformidable, unbreakable bond\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelaMichaela Newcombe from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, who died in a car crash in Spain. Photograph: rip.ie <\/p>\n

Though she lived with her grandparents, she had a deep love for her parents Davy and Lisa, her brothers and her sister, and her nephews.<\/p>\n

Newcombe also loved shopping, travel and fashion. She was a loyal and hard worker. <\/p>\n

Members of her family brought forward items that commemorated her life: a family photo, a teddy bear, her favourite coat, as well as her mobile phone, hair straightener and the make-up bag she never left home without.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a young life is cut short so suddenly, our pain is amplified by the sheer unfairness of it all,\u201d said the parish priest. \u201cThis may have taken Michaela from our sight, but it can never shatter the beautiful memories she created in her short life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fragrance of her spirit, the echo of her laughter and the light she brought to so many people\u2019s lives will remain with us forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaffney said the family had waited more than a week for Newcombe\u2019s body to be repatriated. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn one way, there\u2019s a sense of relief,\u201d he said. \u201cThe waiting has come to an end. The mourning can begin, and proper respect be paid to her memory, and prayers offered for her eternal rest and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later on Thursday, at the funeral of Mark McCullagh-Crichton, an Arsenal jersey, golf club, watch, sunglasses and lead for his faithful dog Nova were presented in his memory. <\/p>\n

His cousin and chief celebrant, Fr Kevin Kiernan, welcomed his parents Paula and Albert, brothers, sisters and wider family. <\/p>\n

\"MarkMark McCullagh-Crichton, who died in a car crash in M\u00e1laga, Spain. Photograph: RIP.ie <\/p>\n

All had gathered in \u201csadness and shock, but with deep gratitude for the gift Mark was and continues to be for each of us\u201d. <\/p>\n

He said everyone\u2019s hearts were heavy, broken and full. \u201cHeavy because the loss of Mark is so deep. Broken because the manner of which his death has shaken his family and our town and further afield. And full, even in the midst of grief, we carry memories of a man who loved his family and his friends. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen something as tragic as the death of Mark, Michaela and Amy happens, we are without words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe funeral of Mark McCullagh-Crichton at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on Thursday. Photograph: Collins <\/p>\n

Kiernan said memories of him included when he was a little boy who did not want to eat his dinner, instead decanting it from his pockets into a nearby field when his parents were not looking. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought he was a genius until the trousers went into the wash and the pockets were full of hardened potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stories were not a distraction from grief, he said, but \u201cpart of the grieving process\u201d, a reminder that his life was full, rich and deeply connected to the people around him.<\/p>\n

On the family\u2019s behalf he paid tribute to the emergency services and hospital staff in Spain, and to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, who helped bring back the remains.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark had a great love for his family but also his girlfriend Michaela, who was the love of his life. Although it was short-lived, they lived it to the full.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amy McCullagh\u2019s funeral takes place on Friday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A parent or grandparent forced to bury a child \u201cdisrupts the rhythm of the world\u201d, Fr Phil Gaffney…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,33076,5,383,7,8,19871],"class_list":["post-577444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-mullingar","tag-news","tag-spain","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-westmeath"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116891828494712364","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577444","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=577444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}