Mother and daughter laid to rest after Cavan crash

A mother and her young daughter, who tragically died in a collision in County Cavan, were laid to rest following a funeral service filled with tributes to their lives. Nell Saffron Raven and her 10-year-old daughter, Irena Raven Mereacre, were involved in a crash between a car and a van on July 24th on the R162 road near Shercock.

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gift of life

Nell Raven died at the scene of the accident. Irena was airlifted to Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin, where she passed away on Tuesday afternoon. During her time in the hospital, Irena gave the "gift of life" through organ donation, with her organs going on to help four other children. The funeral heard that Nell Raven, who had recently celebrated becoming an Irish citizen, was a journalist and author.

Father Sean McDermott, speaking at St. Patrick's Church in Milltown, described Irena, also known as Ira, as a bright and creative child. He noted she inherited her talents for art and writing from her mother. Last Christmas, Irena achieved a dream shared by many young children in Ireland by appearing on RTÉ's The Late Late Toy Show. Despite this public appearance, she remained humble, even joking with classmates about autograph fees.

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life and joy and fun

Fr. McDermott recounted that Irena, initially shy after the family moved from the UK in 2019, blossomed into a "chatterbox" full of "life and joy and fun." He also shared details about Nell Raven's life, noting she was born in Wales in 1973. She met her first husband while working as journalists for the Press Association in London. A graduate of Oxford with a Master's in Creative Writing, she also lived in Pakistan for three years, freelancing for publications like The Telegraph.

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13-year love story

Nell Raven's husband, Alexandru Mereacre, spoke of their "13-year love story" that began in Oxford in 2013. They married in 2014, and Irena was born in 2016. The family moved to Ireland in 2019, settling in Milltown. Mr. Mereacre described their happy life, renovating a cottage and making it their home. He praised Nell for raising the family, working on her book, making friends, restoring their home, and fighting cancer, calling her the best wife he could wish for. He also highlighted Irena's development in Ireland, taking up Irish dancing and learning to be a kind sister, daughter, and friend.

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This is where we belonged.