A LEAVING CERTIFICATE student who died after her car hit a wall and entered the river in South Tipperary was voted the “smiliest person” in her year and had already bought her dress for her Debs ball, her requiem mass has heard.

Brónagh English died when her car left the left the road at Kilaldry Bridge in Kilmoyler, Cahir and entered the River Aherlow last Thursday at around 10pm. Her body was recovered by a Garda sub aqua team last Friday morning.

Brónagh’s coffin was brought in to St John the Baptist Church in Powerstown, Clonmel for her requiem mass today to the sound of a soloist singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Smile’

Her father Michael said that when Brónagh left the house last Thursday evening she told her mother Danielle of her plan to return home in about twenty minutes.

“And that was the end of our Bro. She was a wonderful child. We loved her to pieces as parents. Myself and Danielle noticed something special about her in the early days. We thought there was something wrong with her as she was far too good.”

“We never had terrible twos. We thought ‘she is going to be a terrible teenager surely’ and then she got to 13 or 14 and we thought maybe she was a late developer in teens and still no problem.”

“She had something. She lived in the now. She lived in the present. She was fun right now. She was in the moment.”

Michael said six months ago he and Danielle read a statistic that by the time your child is 18, you will have spent 90 percent of the time you will ever have with them.

“The point of it was that we only had 10 percent more physical team with Brónagh. We were devastated on that day when we read that stat that after 18 kids move on. We would love to have that time back.”

Michael thanked Brónagh’s close knit group of friends, who are nicknamed “The Rats,” for all the joy they had brought to their home over the years.

He was joined on the altar by his wife Danielle who thanked the emergency services for being “beyond amazing” in the aftermath of the accident.

Brónagh’s sister Mia said that her sibling was her best friend.

“Brónagh was so funny with a great imagination. Chinese on a Friday with some weird food combinations. Having Brónagh my sister was really the dream. We will always carry you with us day by day and mile by mile.”

Symbols of her life brought to the altar included photographs of Brónagh and her beloved friends and family, her dancing shoes representing her flair for ballroom dancing, a fishing rod to represent a family holiday where she caught 13 fish in the Amazon Rainforest, and her Rockwell College school jumper.

Nine priests celebrated the mass. These included priests from Rockwell College and her grand uncle Fr Michael English.

Chief celebrant at the mass Fr Peter Ahearne thanked Taoiseach Micheal Martin for sending an aide de camp, Joseph Glennon, to represent him at the mass.

He said that Brónagh “radiated friendship” and lit up every room she entered.

“Brónagh for her family was a sacred gift. She radiated joy. Brónagh lived a full life. She was involved in sport, music and dancing. She gave her time to her friends,” said Ahearne.

Her two brothers Mikey and David were among those who recited Prayers of the Faithful. Brónagh is survived by her parents Michael and Danielle, her siblings Mia, Mikey and David, her grandparents Greta and Donnie Ormonde and Carmel English, her aunts and uncles, her “21 adored first cousins”, extended family and a wide circle of friends. She was recently predeceased by her grandfather John English.

Brónagh lay in repose at her family home in Anner Park House, Waterford Road in Clonmel, Co Tipperary yesterday before being brought to the church for noon requiem mass today. At the end of the mass the coffin was taken from the church to the adjoining cemetery for burial.