Cathal BarryAll-Ireland winning Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte has spoken of how his faith has helped him cope with the devastating loss of his daughter, Michaela, who was murdered four years ago.
Michaela McAreavey, 27, was found strangled while on her honeymoon in Mauritius in January 2011.
Nobody has ever been convicted of her murder.
Asked by Pat Kenny on UTV Ireland’s In the Round this week about how he dealt with the ordeal, the GAA legend said “on my own I couldn’t, it was only with the grace of God”.
“That’s the only explanation for it. With God on your side, as they say, who can be against you,” he said.
Acknowledging that his Catholic upbringing encouraged an “awareness of the presence of God”, Mr Harte said the Faith passed on to him by his parents was “anything but false”.
“This was real, this was true, this was so tangible that you caught it rather than being taught it.”
Despite the tragedy, Mr Harte insisted that his faith has remained unshaken.
“I believe that I had the greatest assistance I could have to deal with that. To be able to lift my mind to a higher plane, the plane where I feel Michaela is now on.
“I believe the grace of God helped me to look at it in this way and to be able to manage that situation with that kind of belief,” he said.
A connection
Admitting that he still misses his daughter “in human terms”, Mr Harte said “on a higher level, I just feel there is a connection – a special connection – and I can only just believe that that’s the work of God”.
Mr Harte added that he wants to instil in people who are grieving “the hope that you can come to terms with life again” but that you “can’t do it on your own”.
“You do need to turn to prayer, you need to turn to God, and I believe that is the greatest resource we can have in dealing with such difficult situations.”