Michaela Mo Dheirfiúr/Michaela, My Sister

It's been a difficult journey,

but together with the prayers of the people and the closeness of our family,

we've managed to come through that.

It's a place that you would never want anyone to have to go,

but if we were going to go there,

we certainly have a great family to go there with.

-TANNOY:

-'Have you given the Ulster colours?

'Have you given the Donegal colours?'

It's everything that Michaela loved.

It's football, it's music, it's dance, and it's being around people.

The GAA is massive for a lot of Irish families,

and the Harte family was no different.

Michaela was very much at home in a GAA ground.

Yeah, and I'm sure she is smiling down on us now,

thinking, "This is great."

I suppose, it's farewell, in another way,

to say that this is remembering you in a very special way,

and we'd like other people to share in that memory.

It's just a lovely way to remember Michaela,

and the beautiful person she was.

She just came down those stairs.

We were looking up, thinking,

"Oh my goodness, Michaela. You look so beautiful."

And she was just radiant, beaming from ear to ear, you know.

And she was saying, "I want no tears! This is the happiest day.

"Just get me to that chapel till I marry John." She just couldn't wait.

Michaela had some husband. She had some husband. She did pick so well.

And I knew who I was handing her over to. And in a way, it was good.

It was lovely to have that opportunity.

As you can imagine, we are all devastated.

Michaela was a lovely girl, she was a wonderful daughter,

brilliant sister for these boys here, and we will always treasure her.

She was a beautiful girl.

Couldn't be better, couldn't be nicer, and God love her.

We are so, so sorry.

She was just a lovely wee girl

that came into our lives on 31st December 1983.

And she was just the blessing from the day she came,

like all our children were, and are.

But I suppose, being the only girl that we had,

she and I had a special connection, a special relationship.

Obviously, I love all the boys too,

but there's something different about having a girl.

She went with me when I started at the minors in 1991.

She came with me to the training. She just wanted to be there, you know.

She just became an integral part of all we were about,

and the beautiful thing about it all was that she was accepted,

as not being in the way

and not being as a nuisance and not interfering.

She was almost like,

this is what part of what every good setup should be about.

Our whole family life is completely revolved around football,

and more for this team, this year.

And there's just such a direct link with Mark and the panel,

Daddy, the manager...

and it just means so much to us, more than anything.

Ever.

If Daddy does win at five o'clock, it's going to be a wee while

before you get down there. What is the first thing you're going to say to him?

I don't know!

I love you, and I'm proud of you.

Whatever the result, that's what I would say to him anyway.

But I would just be so happy. I just would say, "Thank God."

That's what I would say.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Quick kick out. Tyrone get it again.

It's all over! It's all over!

Armagh have lost their crown!

She started the club herself,

and it initially started with smallish numbers,

and then, you know, kids and children were realising, you know,

"It's fine. Here's Michaela." She has a great social life.

She didn't need any alcohol or anything to have a good time when she was out.

She thoroughly enjoyed herself.

I think everyone in the room will wish all year 14 members the very best of luck.

There are enough Year 13 students here,

and we will new Year 12 members next year to lead the Pioneer Council,

so that the Pioneer Council continues,

and that would be the best and fitting tribute that we could give

to Mrs McAreavey, who established it way back when she first started teaching.

Michaela may have passed away,

but the Pioneer Association in our school will never die.

It's helped me personally and honestly,

because whenever I'm thinking about all these activities,

I'd just be thinking about Michaela, you know, and it's all the positive

aspects of her life, and her laughing her way through things, you know.

I think about, "God, would Michaela like doing this?

"Would she like doing that?"

And it just kind of came alive, you know, and I suppose, in many ways,

it is keeping Michaela alive for me, and that kind of works, you know.

We got through that first game. We played a certain kind of way.

It was good in that we were able to adapt from the system

we had been using a lot all year, and we still got by,

but there's lots to be learned from that.

We're just getting weary of it, you know.

That's the best word to describe it at the minute.

We wouldn't be particularly happy with some of the sentiments

that are coming back.

It would seem that it's done in poor taste,

a lot of it particularly in the early stages.

I would be very surprised, and I've heard, obviously, that there

is apparently apprentice lawyers, maybe, in the courtroom as well.

And if that's the kind of behaviour that they're teaching them

to continue to move on with on that island,

then I pity what their legal system is going to be about in the future.

Obviously, the uncomfortable details of what happened

are coming out during the trial as well.

What are your feelings regarding accuracy or inaccuracy of that?

Well, obviously, we don't go into the final detail of those,

but there is some stuff you can't avoid.

And we would be happy in the knowledge that we know

the kind of person that Michaela was,

and we know the kind of person John is.

Nobody trying to take her character away will work with us.

And we are quite sure that anybody that met or knew Michaela

would know exactly what she stood for,

and know the kind of person she was,

and it doesn't matter what fancy barrister thinks

that he can make a name for himself

by trying to bring her good name down.

It won't work with us, and it won't work with those who knew her.

How do you feel towards the two accused?

I have no animosity towards them. I pity them, actually.

And I feel sorry for their family. It has served nobody well, this.

Nobody at all. There can only be losers,

and that's the pity of any of this kind of incident.

We were blessed to have somebody like Mark who could go and represent us.

He did when this awful incident occurred at the time, in January,

and he felt he could go back again and do that.

And we are ever grateful to him, because we need him now,

and we'll always appreciate the very difficult role that he has taken on,

and that that he is representing our family there.

And he understands that probably my best place is at home

with my wife and the rest of the family.

We had a really marvellous time the whole week.

69 children came in here on Monday, not knowing each other,

us not knowing them.

From day one, it just went from strength to strength to strength.

Whatever we witnessed or encountered last week,

this is quite the opposite of it.

It seems a bit ironic, if not predestined,

that something really positive needs to be available.

We hoped that John and Mark and Brendan and Claire would have been home much, much before this,

but is it so happened, they were home the weekend before it.

And it has been great, because as the week went on,

you could see them growing with it as well, and growing in normality,

if you like, again, and having other lives.

And it's just great to see that they could, as the week went on,

enjoy themselves more than they have been able to do for quite a while.

CHEERING

Ultimately, we'd love to have a permanent centre in Glencull here.

Dreams become possible when people do things to make them happen,

and we can see the collective dream, if you like,

coming through, because people are moving in the right direction.

The Michaela Foundation, I think, is something

we want to pursue diligently, if you like, if that's the right word.

Because it's going to be the epitome of all that Michaela stood for.

We are a privileged people, despite the tragedy that has happened to us.

We are privileged because of the level of support that has come our way.

And I know that even since Michaela died,

there's lots of families that have been bereaved

and had serious tragedies visited upon them, and probably don't

have that overwhelming support at least visible to them that we have.

And I always say to people, when you're praying for us,

and praying for Michaela, and thank you very much for that,

but share it too.

Share it with all those other people who are hurting at this minute too.

And there are lots of them. Too numerous to mention.

But I think if people could actually share the prayers that they are sending to Michaela,

that would be a really good gift for all of them to do.

I am depending on God to sustain me,

and depending on good friends and family to be there with me.

And I'm depending on the power of prayer.

And I believe that will always hold me

whenever things become difficult, as they often do.

And I can cry, I can be very emotional,

I can be very sad about what happened.

'And then I can get over it.'

Always prepared!

'I believe that has been the case for me since this happened.

'I really, really see it as a grace from God,

'and a grace from Michaela, who would want this for me.

'She'd want me to know that she's still with me,'

and that she is still so special to me, and I to her.

And I will always have that.

And I think that's the power of prayer,

that's the power of the belief that we have, and you know,

I don't see that ever going away.

So that's my comfort. Why should that go away?

Why should that ever leave me? Michaela wouldn't leave me.

My loyal friend would always be there, you know.

Additional English subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd