www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=691529
A heartbroken mum sobs: 'my baby, my baby' as her precious son is laid to rest
By Debra Douglas
18 May 2006
The sobs of a heartbroken mother rang out across a Co Antrim town yesterday as Gina McIlveen said a final goodbye to her precious son.
Burying a child is every mother's nightmare, but yesterday a grief-stricken Gina buried her 15-year-old son Michael - 10 days after he was brutally murdered in Ballymena.
Pain etched on her face, grief reflected in the tears she cried, the distraught mother sobbed "my baby, my baby" as she collapsed on her murdered son's coffin, overwhelmed by the enormity of her grief.
It was a display of raw emotion which tugged on the heartstrings of around 1,000 mourners who joined her to say goodbye.
It was an image that reflected the heartache caused by the years of sectarianism which has blighted this province.
As Michael's coffin was brought from the family home at Dunvale yesterday morning, the song "The Fields of Athenry" was played. Poignantly, his heartbroken family emerged with his coffin just as the words "Michael they are taking you away" rang out - a reminder of a life tragically cut short.
Michael's coffin was then carried by family and friends through the estate he called home.
School pals, wearing Celtic and Rangers shirts with the words "Micky Bo 7 RIP" emblazoned across them as a touching gesture of cross-community unity, stood together shoulder to shoulder sharing in each other's immeasurable grief.
His younger brother Sean, seemingly unaware of the tragedy which has engulfed his family, proudly showed off his Manchester United shirt to friends, pointing to the back which read "Micky Bo 7 RIP Brother".
Locals of all ages who lined the streets to pay their respects wiped away tears as the sea of mourners accompanied Michael on his final journey to All Saints church, close to where the savage attack took place.
As Gina and other family members lovingly carried the coffin in, one of his uncles wiped away the tears as he placed his nephew's coffin on his shoulder.
Inside, mourners listened intently as both Bishop of Down and Connor, the Most Reverend Patrick Walsh and Father Paul Symonds talked of hope springing from the tragedy.
As school pals from St Patrick's College read, Michael's mother occasionally glanced lovingly at her son's coffin.
The haunting sounds of "You Raise Me Up" echoed from the church as Michael's coffin was brought out.
As the rain fell, many of those filing out of the church wept, the dark overcast skies a reflection of their pain, a pain felt by an entire community regardless of religion or political beliefs.