HUNDREDS of mourners at the funeral of Stuart Wilson on Saturday heard the six-year-old described as a “super wee man” who lived life to the full.
The Rathfriland boy sustained serious head injuries when he was struck by a speedboat at Cranfield on Monday 30 August, passing away three days later in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
St John’s Church of Ireland in Rathfriland was filled to overflowing for Stuart’s funeral on Saturday afternoon and the town came to a standstill as many other mourners gathered outside the church to listen to the Rev David Somerville speak movingly about a little boy who touched so many people in his short life.
“Stuart Wilson was a wee treasure,” Mr Somerville said. “He was the child you noticed in a crowd; the one whose name everyone knew.
“He was full of life and he lived life to the full.”
The rector shared his memories of meeting Stuart during visits to the Wilson family home or when he attended church.
“When he came to church with his family he was always up like a flash for the children’s talk and he kept an interested eye on the bag of chocolate bars, no doubt wondering when I would give over and start giving them out.
“At the end of the service as the congregation filed out he’d sometimes juke in behind his daddy so that he wouldn’t have to shake my hand.
“Maybe he’d hold it out and whip it away before I’d get a chance to shake it. He was a regular wee imp but adorable with it.”
He spoke of the little boy’s love of sport, especially football, and how much he enjoyed attending the junior practice sessions at Rathfriland FC.
“He loved to be around Iveagh Park on Saturdays when the senior teams were playing and the big ones loved him with his quaint turn of phrase. He loved the craic.”
Rathfriland FC and neighbours Moneyslane FC cancelled their scheduled fixtures on Saturday as a mark of respect for Stuart and a minute’s silence was held for him at games across the Mid-Ulster League.
Mourners also heard how Stuart had been looking forward to starting junior rugby this month, how he loved school sports days, and how “he could run like the wind.”
“At home there was a myriad of sports equipment and he played with all of them in turn,” his rector said.
“He would shout ‘Granny, granny wait till you see this’ as he did a somersault on the trampoline. He had no fear.
“He battered the lawn with his little golf clubs and took the light from his granny’s eyes as he kicked up stones round her shins, skidding his bicycle in a semi-circle at her feet.
“Granny Ashley would tell him to stop but the more she said it the more he did it. He threw himself into everything he did.”
Mr Somerville said Stuart loved anything to do with water, whether boating or getting a ride on the back of a jet-ski, and he lived for his annual summer breaks at Cranfield.
“The family will feel very differently about that much loved place from now on,” Mr Somerville observed.
He praised the Wilsons for the courage they had shown in the face of their ordeal.
Describing Stuart as a “super wee man”, he went on to pay tribute to the ‘supermen’ who had tried to save the little boy’s life when Monday’s tragic accident occurred.
“The super men and women who were there on the beach at Cranfield and pulled little Stuart out of the water.
“The doctor and nurse on the beach who administered first-aid and kept his little body going till he got to hospital.
“I thought about the medical staff in Daisy Hill and the Royal Victoria Hospitals, who explored every avenue to bring Stuart’s little body back from the trauma. Supermen, all of them.
“The medical teams went over and beyond their call of duty. They used their skills and experience to push the envelope and see if anything could be done.
“Even those case-hardened professionals who deal with life and death situations day and daily were softened by the plight of a little boy whose life was hanging on by a thread,” added Mr Somerville.
Following the funeral service Stuart was laid to rest in the adjoining graveyard.
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