A LIFE full of laughter, adventure and compassion was lived by Dylan White who was laid to rest “before his time” in his native Ennis on Monday.
Dylan exuded a sense of warmth with his smile, nature and manner which saw him build a wide circle of friends and come across as a friendly young man to those that didn’t know him personally.
He was universally liked and was noted as a model student with a strong sense of determination.
There is a sting in the emotional punch of seeing droves of young men and women in tears and it was visible in Ennis across the weekend for Dylan’s reposal on Sunday night at the White home in Clonroad Beg, at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and Drumcliffe Cemetery on Monday. Friends of Dylan’s gathered in the Cathedral over an hour before his funeral began at 11am on Monday.
Aged 22, Dylan died on Friday following an illness. Huge crowds of all ages and backgrounds turned out over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend to remember a friendly soul, loved by so many. Guards of honour were provided by Ennis Town FC and Éire Óg GAA club.
Fr Tom Ryan was the chief celebrant for Monday’s mass. Among those joining him on the altar was family friend, Fr Tom Whelan and Fr Ben Hughes, the chaplain at University of Galway where Dylan was a Law and Business student. Fr Ryan described Dylan as “someone so young with so much to live for”. He is a past pupil of Ennis National School and St Flannan’s College.
Addressing Monday’s funeral, Dylan’s father Peter said, “my heart is filled with sorrow and pride, sorrow for the empty space in our hearts”. He added, “I find peace in the thought that his life was full of laughter, adventure and compassion”.
Peter said, “When we remember Dylan, I think of him getting us involved in soccer with Ennis Town and GAA with Éire Óg and sometimes it is the time we spent travelling to Dublin, listening to the 2 Johnnies and not knowing what way to look and him slagging me for my taste in music”.
“It means a lot to us to see so many people who recognised what a great guy he was,” Peter added. “All I can say is, the reality is we will grieve forever, we will not get over his loss but we will learn to live with it”.
There was a strong round of applause following this which prompted Fr Ryan to remark, “the round of applause sums up everything”.
“Dylan closed his eyes for the last time on Good Friday,” Fr Ryan noted. As he watched Dylan’s parents Peter and Catriona walk down the aisle of the Cathedral behind their son’s coffin, he said it reminded him of them walking behind their son as they welcomed him to the Christian community twenty two years ago. “With heavy hearts, turmoil and heavy emotions we gather at this difficult time,” he said.
He continued, “We gather on this Easter Monday with heavy hearts. We mourn the death of Dylan, a beloved son, brother, nephew, friend whose life was far too short for our measure, his life was a gift. At the empty tomb we stand today bringing our pain, our questions, even our anger to God but we also bring our faith and our belief, our faith that proclaims that even through our tears that Christ is risen”.
On Friday, Dylan “died before his time,” Fr Ryan said. “We don’t understand why Dylan has died, why he has left the world so young, too early, at 22 years of age the spring of life, his life was a life full of promise with Ellen his girlfriend, Caitriona and Peter his Mam and Dad, Evan his brother”.
Twenty two years of Dylan’s life were lived well to the very end, Fr Ryan stated while pointing out that only two weeks ago he was among the participants in a five kilometre walk. He took time to observe the amount of students present “in great numbers. It is a very difficult day for you, it is also exam season so I know you are distracted by the turmoil of death and exams” while informing them that students are prayed for daily in the Cathedral.
Prayers of the faithful were offered for Clarecastle Pharmacy, Clarecare and Milford Hospisce during the service.
A former player with Ennis Town FC, Dylan started out with the club at academy level before progressing through the schoolboys ranks with his father Peter among his coaches.
On the GAA scene, Dylan lined out with Éire Óg and was part of the Junior B football side. The club in a statement said there was “a deep sense of sadness and shock” following his death. “Dylan, along with Evan, has been a big part of the Éire Óg family and in particular our Junior B football teams”.
Among the mourners at Monday’s funeral was Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF). She said Dylan was “a beloved young man of the town. At the funeral mass, an older lady seated beside me commented on ‘all the lovely young people’ in attendance”. She added, “A community shocked by the death of one so young, resonated in the resounding applause from the congregation in support of the overwhelming grief in the words shared by Dylan’s grieving father, Peter”.
He is survived by his heartbroken family, mother Catriona, father Peter and brother Evan, aunts, uncles, relatives, friends and his girlfriend Ellen.
