MOURNERS at a funeral for a man murdered in Co. Down last weekend have heard how he was a 'kind, thoughtful, gentle person' who was always willing help out others.
Stephen Brannigan, 56, was found dead at a house in the Marian Park area of Downpatrick last Sunday, two hours after parish priest Fr John Murray was attacked at St Patrick's Church in the town.
Hugh Malone, 30, appeared in court this week charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the incidents.
Mr Brannigan's funeral took place at St Brigid's Church in Downpatrick on Saturday.
He was laid to rest in the shirt of his beloved Liverpool FC, while some mourners also wore the club's jerseys.
Fr Timothy Bartlett paid tribute to Mr Brannigan, saying 'Stephen loved and Stephen was loved'.
"The peace of an ordinary Sunday summer morning was cruelly shattered by acts of vicious and senseless violence," said Fr Bartlett.
"Totally unprovoked, this violence was directed against two people who had simply reached out to help someone they believed was in distress.
"To reach out to others, to drop into a neighbour's house and make them a cup of tea, or to paint their house for nothing, or to look after the grave of a neighbour's loved one — as he did for his late wife Dorenda almost every day — this was so much a part of the kind, thoughtful, gentle person we know Stephen Brannigan was."
'Growing culture of aggression and violence'
Reflecting on last week's events, Fr Bartlett said he believed violence was on the increase in society as communities and the services that support them faltered.
He said: "It would be a further tragedy if Stephen's murder and the brutal attack on Fr John were just to become another statistic in the long, sad line of brutal and violent murders we have seen in this part of our island over recent years, particularly attacks on women, children and others who are vulnerable.
"Am I the only one here who feels that so many things that once made our communities strong are now disappearing?
"Am I the only one who feels so many of the services which built up a culture safety, respect and care are under-resourced and broken?
"Am I the only one who feels that there is a growing culture of aggression and violence creeping like a cancer through the bones of our families, our towns and our society, in which nothing and no one is sacred anymore?
"Am I the only one who yearns for a little more gentleness, a little more civility, a little more courtesy, a little more neighbourliness and community and, most of all, a little more compassion and care?
"It is long past time to ask ourselves the hard question about why this is happening in our society all too frequently."
Fr Bartlett said that all resources of social capital need to work together to address the issue.
"For this to happen, politicians have to have a willingness to make room for other sources of wisdom, influence and experience in our local communities," he added.
Following Saturday's service, Mr Brannigan was laid to rest in Struell Cemetery in Downpatrick.
Mr Malone is due to appear in court again on September 4.
See More: Down, Downpatrick
