THE FUNERAL OF a 16-year-old schoolboy who died after getting into difficulty off the coast of Donegal has remembered him as “an ambassador of hope” in Buncrana.

Emmanuel Familola was one of two teenagers who tragically died in the incident outside the town last weekend.

The requiem mass of Emmanuel took place at St Mary’s Oratory in Buncrana.

Students from Emmanuel’s school, Scoil Mhuire, formed a guard of honour as his mother, Glory, and other family members arrived for the service.

Some of Emmanuel’s relatives are watching the funeral remotely from Nigeria, while hundreds of locals attended the church.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris are being represented at the funeral by aide-de-camp Commandant Joe Glennon.

Speaking ahead of the service, Tony Joel, a neighbour of the Familola family in Nigeria, thanked the people from Buncrana, from Inishowen and from Donegal for “being there for us from the moment this tragedy happened”. 

He also extended thanks to the RNLI and hospital staff at Letterkenny General Hospital “who tried so hard to save Emmanuel”. 

“We cannot thank you enough for the unity and love you have given to this family and for supporting us all in this hard time.

“May Almighty God continue to bless this country, continue to bless this community and every family here,” Joel said, speaking on behalf of the African Community in Donegal.

Emmanuel was remembered by a local priest as “charismatic with an ability to draw people to him”.

Fr Francis Bradley, parish priest of Buncrana, said Emmanuel carried “a real warmth, stature, dignity, and nobility”.

“He looked out for other’s needs, was endlessly patient and kind, and so so respectful; such an attractive personality given the plethora of gifts and talents he possessed, and every one of them carried with gentle ease and good humour,” Bradley said.

He told those in attendance that Emmanuel would seek out and help vulnerable children in his school, giving them “the shelter they needed amid the storms of life and living”.

“All of this has made the tragedy which befell himself and Matt Sibanda from Zimbabwe on Saturday evening last all the more difficult to comprehend, all the more painful for his family, for all of us and especially for his friends who were there and did their best to help.”

Emmanuel Familola and Matt Sibanda Scoil Mhuire Buncrana and Crana College Scoil Mhuire Buncrana and Crana College

The priest explained the tragic circumstances of the deaths of Emmanuel and Matt Sibanda – it is understood a group had been playing football on the beach at Ned’s Point, just outside Buncrana, and some had gone into the water to retrieve a ball.

“None of us can judge the actions which led to such a calamitous tragedy,” Bradley said. “If hindsight were foresight, we’d all have insight.”

“May Emmanuel Kolawole Familola and Matt Sibanda both now rest in peace.”

The funeral mass for Matt Sibanda will be held next week.