HEARTBREAKING tributes have poured in for a young teacher who died along with her four friends in a crash in Co Louth last week.

Chloe McGee, 23, from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, died along with her boyfriend Alan McCluskey, 23, from Drumconrath.

Mourners gathered to remember Chloe McGeeCredit: Conor O Mearain/PA Wire

Attendees at the funeral of Chloe McGee.
President Catherine Connolly paid her respectsCredit: Conor O Mearain/PA Wire
 

Collage of five headshots, three men and two women, from Co Louth.
Tributes poured in for the five friendsCredit: Family Handouts/PA Wire
Five youngsters, all under 25, lost their lives in the tragedy last Saturday, with the other casualties being Shay Duffy, 21, from Carrickmacross, Dylan Commins, 23, from Ardee, Co Louth, and Chloe Hipson, 21, from Lanarkshire in Scotland.

The pals died after their VW Golf was involved in a collision with a Toyota Land Cruiser on a stretch of road near Dundalk, Co Louth, last Saturday night.

President Catherine Connolly was among the hundreds of mourners who gathered to remember the tragic young woman at St. Joseph’s Church in Carrickmacross.

Chloe’s grey Audi, with her name on the registration plate, was driven in behind the hearse.

Monsignor Shane McCaughey told mourners how the community has been left in shock since the “tragedy struck”.

He said: “The outpouring of grief in our communities and indeed all over the country in the last days is proof – if proof were needed – that the bonds of love which hold people together are so powerful, but cause deep hurt and distress when those bonds are torn apart. Love hurts.”

The priest continued: “To Chloe’s parents, Ciaran and Eileen, we know that your hearts are broken, almost ripped from you these last six, seven days.

“Parents shouldn’t have to bury a child, it’s the wrong order.”

Monsignor McCaughey said it’s been a “rollercoaster of emotions” for all the families since the accident.

He continued: “I want to welcome today too members of the McCluskey family, the Hipson family, the Duffy family and the Commins family who have joined us here today.

“It’s tremendous courage that you are showing. We appreciate your presence as you make that most terrible and difficult of journeys.

“We want to welcome too AJ and his family. We pray for you AJ that you may recover from your injuries and recover from the trauma that you are experiencing.

“We pray too today for the other young couple who were involved in the accident the other evening that they too may recover from this most traumatic of experiences.”

‘BUBBLY GIRL’

Some symbols representing Chloe’s life were brought to the altar including a family photograph, a photo of her boyfriend Alan, her passport, keys, a jersey, a cowboy hat, her hairdressing tunic and a bird house.

Mourners heard how Chloe was a “bubbly” girl with an infectious laugh and a “smile that would light up any room”.

The priest said: “Speaking to Chloe’s friends this week, we get an impression of a bubbly character, infectious laughter, smiles that could light up any room.

“By good fortune, she got her mother’s looks and her dad’s gift for the gab. She had a quick retort, a funny and witty remark.”

In her eulogy during the funeral, Chloe was remembered for her sense of adventure and how she carried a spark for the world beyond her doorstep.

‘CHASED HAPPINESS’

The church heard: “You and Alan had a way of becoming children again whenever you were together.

“Playful, unfiltered, turning the smallest moments into something bright from laughing.

“Two hearts, completely themselves, finding comfort and joy in each other’s presence, and you carry the spark for the world beyond your doorstep, making plans at the very last minute, saying: “Let’s just go.”

“You chased travel where you chased happiness – eagerly, freely, as if adventure were a friend calling your name.

“You left echoes in places you never meant to.

“Empty chairs, unfinished plans, hands that still reach out for you without thinking, but you also left a light.

 

“In the laughter you gave so easily, in the way you made others feel seen in the warmth that has outlived the moment you’re taking.

“We carry you forward, not as a shadow of loss, but as a quiet truth that life, even a short one, can be bright enough to change the people who love you.”

Floral funeral tributes atop a dark hearse, with cards nestled among the flowers.
Chloe was remembered as a ‘bubbly’ girl with an infectious laughCredit: Conor O Mearain/PA Wire
 

Headshot of a woman in a white sweater with black bows.
Chloe McGee was a teacher from Carrickmacross