‘Little Joe was a force of nature …he loved so much and was so much loved’

A six-year-old boy who died in a quad bike accident has been described as a youngster who had ‘boundless enthusiasm, inquisitiveness and fearlessness’.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral on Tuesday of Joseph (Joe) Hegarty, from Co. Antrim, who died on Friday last.

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Mourners who gathered at St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s Church in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, wore colourful sports clothing to honour the treasured schoolboy’s love for sport and colour.

The popular youngster was the much-loved son of Andrea and Michael, and a brother to Katie.

Mourners walk beside the hearse as the cortege travels to the funeral of Joseph Hegarty at St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s Church, Ballycastle, Co Antrim. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Fr Con Boyle told yesterday’s funeral Mass that young Joe was at the farm with his friends on Friday when, in an instant, he was ‘taken from us’.

Symbols representing little Joe’s life were brought to the altar, including a football jersey with the number 26, along with his hurling helmet and hurl, tennis racket and football.

He was a pupil at St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s Primary School in Ballycastle and played for Carey Faughs GAC hurling club and Naomh Pádraig GAA Club.

A family friend described Joe as a ‘force of nature’. ‘Five minutes after you’d met Joe, you knew him and he knew you,’ he told mourners. ‘He was relentlessly enthusiastic, and when you made Joe laugh, he made everyone else laugh for you.

Joseph (Joe) Hegarty. Pic: P J Dallat & Sons Funeral Directors

‘He was six years old, but he was an oversized member of every team and tribe that he belonged to, whether that was the Hegarty and McIlroy families or his beloved Carey Faughs.

‘He was the heartbeat of so many get-togethers. He asked a question or two or three. His energy and joy were infectious, and he had that special personality that could make a quiet room loud or make a loud room quiet.

‘He was a wonderful son to Andrea and Michael. He even let them live in his house. He was a rascal, and he made a share of fun, but Joe was fortunate to have two wonderful, loving parents and they were repaid with a son who adored them in return.’

The friend continued: ‘Joe loved so much, and he was so much loved. He was a perfect brother and had a perfect sister in Katie. Katie and Joe were a double act, and that will never change because their special relationship is part of who Katie is, and she will carry Joe forever within her.

Mourners carry the coffin of Joseph Hegarty to his funeral at St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s Church, Ballycastle, Co Antrim. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

‘He was a beautiful grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. We all loved being with Joe. As we cope with our sadness, it’s our collective duty to share the funny memories we shared with Joe.’

He also said it was ‘the most heartbreaking honour to be asked to stand here this afternoon and speak for Joe Hegarty’.

The friend continued: ‘Joe lived with boundless enthusiasm, inquisitiveness and fearlessness. He was Andrea and Michael’s little hero. As we face moments of grief and sadness and doubt… we should be inspired by Joe.

‘If Joe didn’t know, he always asked the question, we should all do that. Joe never implied he loved you. He told you and he showed you. He tried his best, and if it didn’t work out, he just tried harder, and we should all do that. When Joe cried, he sought comfort with the people he loved the most, and they wiped his tears, and he went back to whatever he was doing with even greater energy and enthusiasm.

The order of service for the funeral of Joseph Hegarty at St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s Church, Ballycastle, Co Antrim. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

‘We all need to be a little bit more Joe Hegarty. Heaven has one more angel today, and he’s carrying a hurling stick.’

Pupils and staff from Joe’s primary school, as well as his teammates, attended his funeral.

Fr Boyle said: ‘In an instant that afternoon in an accident, Joe was taken from us, and we are all just devastated beyond words.

‘Our hearts are sore for Andrea, Michael and Katie, for Joe’s grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all so close to him in the McIlroy and Hegarty families.

‘What was it like to be Joe on Friday? Joe could pack an awful lot of living into a single day.

‘He had to know who was who, engrossed in sport with all the energy of his little body, and especially hurling. He was always number 26 on Carey Faughs. Above all, Joe lived in a little world in which he only knew love and happiness.’

The priest said that ‘the last words he heard at the end of a phone call with his mammy and daddy at lunchtime on Friday were words from his daddy telling him he loved him’.

He added: ‘Andrea has been saying with great faith and acceptance that it was just Joe’s time.

‘He was so excited about getting up to the farm. You look back and you think: what lovely touches that day. Was Joe happy? You don’t have to ask. He was having the best of a day. And that is how he left us. Joe will never be anything other than happy.’

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