Gillian Daly, a mother of two who died in the River Lee this weekend, was laid to rest in Millstreet, Cork this afternoon. 

Ms Daly, a 44-year-old primary school teacher, died on Friday after her car entered the River Lee. Witnesses dived into the water to save her two young sons but were unable to rescue her as well.  

In a funeral oration, her brother Jason praised her as a wonderful mother to her two boys: 

“There’s never been two children who have been as cherished and loved by a Mum as our two handsome boys,” Jason told attendees. 

“You’ve raised two fine, brave young boys and raised them to be young men that any Mum would be proud of.” 

'A state of shock'

Speaking to Newstalk the day after her death, former Deputy Mayor of Cork said Ms Daly’s death had left the city in a “state of shock”: 

“Just being around in my own constituency early this morning and people talking and meeting people in shops etc, everybody is in a state of shock,” Cllr Ken O’Flynn said.  

“Everybody is in a state of [thinking] how tragic and how sorry they are for the family.” 

He continued: 

“It’s a feeling of deep sadness. It’s a feeling that ‘This could be my wife, it could be my child’. 

“That’s the reality of what’s on the ground here. That’s how we’re all feeling down here in Cork and it’s a very, very sad day here in Cork.”

Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to contact them.

Main image: A lamp sign outside Anglesea Street Garda Station, Cork City.