The late Willie O'Brien The dark, grey clouds that hung over the village of Knockainey echoed the hearbreaking sorrow that was etched every mourner's face as they gathered for the funeral of 27-year-old Limerick hurler Willie O'Brien. Mr O'Brien died in his sleep and it is thought that he may have died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. He was due to play alongside his twin brother Donncha in a relegation play off against Dromin/Athlacca. Several hundred mourners packed St Mary's Church, Knockainey, and manu more stood outside the church to pay their final respects to Mr O'Brien. Mr O'Brien is survived by his parents, Anne and Denis; daughter, Keeva; girlfriend Lisa; brothers Donnacha, Mike and Seamus and sisters Breda, Margaret and Anne-Marie. Mr O'Brien, who lived in Ragumas in the parish of Knockainey, worked for Buckley's Builders Providers on Ballysimon Road. The Requiem Mass was conducted by Fr Sean Fennelly, CC, Hospital, the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dr Dermot Clifford, also presided at the Mass, along with nine other members of the clergy. Among the attendance was GAA president Nicky Brennan; the chairman of the Limerick County Board, Denis Holmes, as well as th chairman of the South Board, Pat Murnane. Officers from both boards were also in attendance. "A dark cloud of sadness and tragedy had been hanging over us now for a couple of weeks, and, unfortunatley, last saturday was no exception," said Fr Fennelly. He said the news that Mr O'Brien had died had spread through the parish like wildfire and stunned and saddened everyone. "He was a great brother, a great father, an excellent son, a valued member of the parish and a valuable member of the sporting community in Knockainey," said Fr Fennelly. "The awful tragedy of death is that is so absolute and so final and leaves crushing pain in the chest and the realisation that we will not meet in this life again," he said. Fr Fennelly said that Mr O'Brien was the baby of the O'Brien family as the was born after his twin, Donncha. He said that while grwoing up he developed the first great loves of his life, the love of his parents and brothers and sisters. Mr O'Brien was a wonderful father to Keeva, and each Saturday they shared a late breakfast and both had a hidden addiction to jelly sweets. He spoke of Mr O'Brien's passion for reading newspapers, novels and biographies, and how he would read the Limerick Leader from cover to cover each week and the pride he had in the house which he was buidling and was now up to roof level. He developed his love of hurling at a very young age and played it in the fields, in the yard and even in the kitchen. Mr O'Brien played with "his head up and his chest out", and hurling was a sport he absolutely loved. "There had to be hurling in Heaven. There couldn't be Heaven without hurling for Willie and in Heaven you can never be sent off," he said. Fr Fennelly's poignant sermon moved the congregation to applause. Members of Knockainey GAA club formed a guard of honour outside St Mary's Church and burial took place in the adjoining cemetery. Mr O'Brien won an All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling medal with Limerick in 1998 when they beat Kilkenny in the final and won a County Intermediate with Knockainey in 2002. He also won an All-Ireland B Schools Colleges medal during his school days with the De La Salle, Hospital, and he won two Fitzgerald All-Ireland Cup Medals with Cork Institute of Technology. The chairman of Konckainey GAA Club, John MacNamara, said that Mr O'Brien was a great all-rounder as he was a coach, a player and an officer. "He wore the No.3 jersey with pride. He was a great player and always had the respect of this fellow players. he was very reliable and trained minor and underage teams," said Mr McNamara. Courtesy of The Limerick Leader 19/08/2006 Tweet

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