The passing of Sarah McNally has left a hollow void among us, as echoed in her memorial service. “We wish we weren’t gathered here under these circumstances,” Father Michael McGrath lamented to the congregated mourners on Monday morning at the St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford.
Sarah, 41, a local from Longford, passed tragically in New York following a fatal altercation at her place of work, a local bar, on Saturday, the 30th of March. The accusation of her murder lies with her partner, Marcin Pieciak.
Having spent over a decade residing in New York, she earned her livelihood working as a bartender at The Céilí House in Queens. “Sarah’s departure… has cast a sombre shadow, primarily on her immediate family: her mother Dorrie, her father Des, grandmother Kathleen, along with her aunts, uncles and extended family and the wide network of friends gathered here and scattered all the way across the Atlantic,” said Fr McGrath.
In the light of ushering Easter, he noted that “the alarms ringing in the streets of New York heralded something distinctly grave and sinister”. “The astounding disbelief has prompted a gamut of intense emotions over the past week following her departure,” he noted.
He reminisced about Sarah’s baptism and the radiance she brought into her family in December 1982. Those who held close ties with Sarah recall her as a lively young woman who adored life, her automobiles – specifically her boisterous, customised vehicles. “Anyone who worked with her will remember her as a visionary who could well have revolutionised online shopping before it even gained traction,” he mentioned.
“But inevitably, the humdrum routine of a conventional 9 to 5 civil service role was far from an energising prospect for her. It was a matter of time before she took flight further afield,” he added.
He described Sarah as having a “spirited and benevolent” disposition with a natural tendency towards laughter and jollity. “The cheerful memories she left in her wake contrast starkly with the murky reality we now face. However, these memories have heightened in their sweetness precisely because of this,” he added.
Sarah McNally’s partner, Marcin Pieciak (36) has been officially charged by a Grand Jury in New York for her murder. Pieciak, a resident of 76th Street in Glendale, Queens, was taken into custody following the fatal stabbing incident which occurred at the bar where McNally was employed in Queens, on the 30th of March, a Saturday. Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and a second degree murder charge make up the indictment against Pieciak. His arraignment, where he is likely to enter a plea, is proposed for the 19th of April.