Acknowledgment from the family of the late Daniel Greer (RIP)
We the family of the late Daniel Greer – our beloved 16-year-old son and brother – wish to publicly express our heartfelt thanks to all those who sympathised with us in our recent bereavement and helped us to get through some of the most difficult days in our lives.
We deeply appreciate the efforts that so many of you made to attend Daniel’s wake and funeral last month. To all those who came to offer us hugs, shake our hands and wipe our tears; to those who made phone calls, sent sympathy cards, kind letters, messages, flowers and donations in Daniel’s name – your condolences have brought us great comfort at a time of overwhelming grief.
We also want to thank all of those who played a part in helping us lay our darling boy to rest by participating in his funeral service – those who carried his coffin; delivered readings and prayers of the faithful; brought gifts to the altar to represent Daniel’s life and also his godmother Sinead Costello who delivered his eulogy so movingly.
Daniel touched the lives of so many people during his short life and this was clearly evident in the many wonderful tributes paid to him during his funeral. We would like to thank the children and staff of Daniel’s old school, Cloughoge Primary, who accompanied the cortege all the way from our home to the church. Their presence, walking alongside us, was a real source of solace as we set off on the hardest of journeys.
We would also like to thank Daniel’s classmates in the Abbey Grammar who staged a guard of honour outside the church, alongside Daniel’s friends from the 1st Dromore Scouts and students and staff from other local schools. They were accompanied in the guard of honour by Paul’s colleagues – pilots and cabin crew from Easyjet. We know many of you travelled long distances to pay this mark of respect to our son and we are very grateful to each and every one of you.
One of Daniel’s greatest loves was music and the presence of many of his young friends from the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland was another beautiful tribute – one which we know he would have really loved. Again, some of you travelled from all over the island to be there for him and the show of support was very much appreciated.
We particularly want to thank all the singers and musicians who performed so beautifully during the funeral Mass – to singers Fiona Flynn and Karl McGuckin; Daniel’s brass tutors Peter Benson, Niamh Mathers, John Egan and Phil Ferguson; pianist Cathal Murphy; Daniel’s close friends Caoimhe Mackle and Emily Flanagan and guitarist Gareth Hughes. You each did Daniel proud.
We are forever indebted to Daniel’s hospital chaplain Fr Gavin who ministered to our son when he found out he was dying and then travelled from Manchester to concelebrate his requiem Mass. Our gratitude also to Fr Colum Wright for guiding us through the funeral preparations and for the compassion he showed throughout the ceremony. We are also grateful for the home visits and spiritual guidance of Fr Colum Murphy during Daniel’s cancer battle and to Fr Joseph Ralph who has offered many prayers and Masses in St Catherine’s Dominican Church, Newry.
We send our sincere appreciation to Patricia Heaney and the staff of Heaney Keenan Funeral Directors for the sensitive and compassionate way they looked after our family on the day of the funeral and in the hectic days leading up to the ceremony. Thanks also to the staff of the Flagstaff Lodge for providing hospitality after the service.
We also want to thank all our friends, neighbours and family members who helped out during the wake by bringing food and many other supplies, for giving up their weekend to serve tea and coffee and for making mourners feel welcome in our home as we prepared to say goodbye to our beloved boy.
Throughout Daniel’s long illness we have relied heavily on the services of many of our wonderful healthcare workers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the medical teams of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Belfast who cared for Daniel since his initial leukaemia diagnosis in 2022, strongly supported by tutors, play specialists and domestic staff who tried so hard to make Daniel’s time in hospital easier to bear. In particular, we will be forever grateful to the amazing nurses in the children’s haematology/oncology ward and RVH paediatric consultant Bethany Mitchell for her unfailing dedication to our son.
We would also like to acknowledge the outstanding treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital who looked after Daniel for many months while he underwent three stem cell transplants in England. Our particular thanks must be given to Prof Rob Wynn in Manchester, who oversaw two of the transplant procedures, and Dr Oana Mirci-Danicar in Bristol.
We are sincerely grateful too to our district nurses and the staff at Daisy Hill Hospital whose support was invaluable to ensure that Daniel got his final wish to spend his last few weeks at home in Newry, surrounded by the love of his friends and family.
We must also acknowledge the work of the charities who have helped to ease Daniel’s cancer journey over almost two and a half years – in particular DMKS UK, Anthony Nolan; the Cancer Fund for Children and Angel Wishes. Their practical support has been invaluable.

Finally, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our family and friends to join us at Daniel’s month’s mind Mass in the Sacred Heart Church, Cloughoge at 10:00am on Sunday, 20th October.
Thank you all for being part of Daniel’s life and for sharing in our grief. He will be forever loved and missed by his heartbroken Mum Anne, Dad Paul and big brother James. May he Rest In Peace.