THERE were heartbreaking scenes at the funeral mass of tragic farmer Seamus Hegarty, as hundreds of people came out to say a tearful goodbye to the popular father-of-four.
Mourners packed into St Patrick’s Church in Murlog with many forced to stand outside the chapel as crowds swelled inside.
Seamus Hegarty was killed instantly when a tractor tyre he was working on with his best friend Kevin Woods exploded on a farm near Crossroads, Killygordon on Friday evening.
Both men were attempting to fix a puncture on a tractor wheel when a steel rim blew off and struck the two men killing them outright.
The funeral of Kevin Woods will take place tomorrow.
The hugely popular farmers were both in their early 50s and were neighbours and lifelong friends, who both hailed from the Raphoe area.
Hundreds of people joined Seamus Hegarty’s cortege as it made its way from his home at Ballindrait.
Parish priest, Fr Edward Kilpatrick told mourners the pair were inseparable and their deaths have shocked and greatly saddened many people, and that there is a sense of disbelief across the community.
The congregation also heard how Seamus Hegarty was a devoted family man who worked hard to provide for his wife and four children.
Fr Kilpatrick said, “They were lifelong friends from school days, worked together, played together and yet they were of different personalities.
“This is a big farming area so the two men were well known, everybody had a great relationship with them and as a result they just feel lost without them.
“Here at the masses last night and today there was almost an eerie silence in the church.
“Both families are coping quite well but it’s in the days afterwards when things quieten down that’s when the difficulty sets in.