Hundreds pay respects to murdered mum and children, 13 and 14, as funeral takes place

Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects to a mother and her two children who were horrifically murdered at their home.

Huge crowds joined in the Co Clare village of Barefield, in Ireland, for Vanessa Whyte, 45, her 14-year-old son James Rutledge and her 13-year-old daughter Sara Rutledge - who died after being shot in Northern Ireland, on July 23. Agricultural contractor Ian Rutledge, 43, who died on Monday, is understood to be the only suspect in the shooting of his family, in what police suspect was a triple murder suicide.

The murdered mother and her children are "together and finally safe", their funeral has heard. It comes after teachers found dead in murder-suicide leaving two kids, 3 and 5, without a mum.

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Following a service of removal in Maguiresbridge, Northern Ireland, on Wednesday, a funeral service took place for Vanessa and her children in Barefield. Many mourners wore GAA jerseys and bright colours as requested by the family as they lined the main street to watch the three hearses pass by. The three are will buried together in Templemaley Cemetery later.

Roads in Barefield, the village where Vanessa was originally from, were shut as mourners went to the Church of the Immaculate Conception to pay their respects to the mum and her two kids.

Delivering the eulogy, Vanessa’s sister Regina said they have been robbed of their loved ones. "Vanessa, James and Sara were taken from this world in a cruel and vicious manner – there are no words available to express how this has impacted our family and their friends," she said.

"We as a family have been robbed of both a relationship with our sister and a chance to see James and Sara grow up, and they have been robbed of the remainder of their lives."

"For us as a family, the only comfort we have is that Vanessa, James and Sara are together and finally safe. Vanessa will have her children at either side of her forever, as they were when they were alive."

She described her sister as "witty, bright, kind and determined", and said James and Sara were the "focus of her world". She recalled James’ love of the GAA, playing both hurling and football, and also cricket, adding he has been acknowledged as the "kind, bright, determined teenager we as a family know so well".

Sara was remembered as having a deep love for animals, and aspiring to follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a vet, as well as loving sport. The three are will buried together in Templemaley Cemetery later.

At Wednesday's service of removal, the priest, Fr Raymond Donnelly, told mourners the victims had their lives "taken in an unspeakable way" and the community had been shaken "to its core". Crowds of people also lined the streets in the small village where the mum and two teens were killed.

Father Donnelly said: "There is a heaviness in the air - a silence within our hearts - that speaks volumes. The tragedy we have endured has shaken this community, and our country, to its core. We are left shocked, grieving, heartbroken, searching for meaning: grappling with questions too deep for words.

"The loss of a Vanessa and her two beautiful children, James and Sara - lives taken in such an unspeakable way - is more than any heart should bear. A woman full of kindness and warmth, a friend to so many here. And her children, so young, so vibrant, so full of promise."

The suspect, Ian Rutledge, died while in hospital on Monday, in what police suspect could have been a murder suicide.