THE funeral of Limerick man Jason Corbett has taken place in his native city.
The 39-year-old died on August 2 in his US home in North Carolina after what police described as a “domestic incident”.
The Corbett family came together at Our Lady Queen of Peace church in Janesboro this afternoon, having been reunited with Mr Corbett's children Jack, 10, and Sarah, 8, who arrived from America at the weekend.
The children are at the centre of a custody battle with the Irishman's widow Molly Martens.
Mr Corbett’s will stated that in the event of his death, his sister and her husband should be appointed guardians but Ms Martens is appealing the court order that allowed the children to return to Ireland from North Carolina.
Mr Corbett’s sister Tracey Lynch and her husband David, who now have custody of the children, walked into the church with them this morning as they said goodbye to their father.
A picture of Jason with his two children was brought up as one of several gifts during the funeral service.
His Munster and Liverpool jerseys, along with a golf ball and a tee represented his love of sport.
Jason Corbett (left), pictured with his twin brother Wayne, died three weeks ago. Picture: John CorbettFather Pat O’Sullivan spoke of the importance of Mr Corbett’s love for his two children in his homily – and how proud his parents Rita and John were of him.
One of eight children, Mr Corbett is survived by his elderly parents, siblings and his two children.
Jack and Sarah’s mother, Mags Corbett, died of an asthma attack in 2006.
Mr Corbett was laid to rest beside her this afternoon in nearby Castlemungret Cemetery.
Molly Martens, along with her father Thomas Martens, 65, have been described by police as “persons of interest” in Mr Corbett's death.
An official cause of death has yet to be revealed and no arrests have been made to date.
The Martens’ attorney David Freedman has said that neither of his clients have “committed any criminal acts in all of this”.
Mr Freidman confirmed at the weekend that if any charges are brought against them in relation to Mr Corbett’s death, they would plead not guilty.
“If those charges were brought I would be hard-pressed to see why they would do anything else,” he told RTÉ’s This Week programme on Sunday.
Molly Martens had been married to Mr Corbett for the past four years and was nanny to the children before that.
