Date Published: 25-Apr-2011

Mickey Harte was already an inspiring man long before he dealt so courageously and so publically with his grief after the brutal death of his beloved daughter Michaela. The man who led Tyrone to All-Ireland glory exudes a calmness and a sense of perspective on life that clearly comes from a very deep faith.

He revealed so much of his soul in Michaela – Finding Peace, RTE’s heartbreaking documentary on the life and death of a young, 27 year old woman who touched so many hearts in so many ways.

And Michaela’s husband John has equally somehow found the faith and the strength to deal with a level of grief and tragedy that the rest of us could never imagine.

This 50 minute documentary was the work of RTE’s Northern Editor Tommie Gorman at his very best; insightful, revealing, honest, and an insight into a family that found the faith to deal with such a horrific event.

Michaela and John were married on December 30 last – and just 16 days later her Requiem Mass took place at the same Church.

Her death was headline news across the globe but the outpouring of grief and the incredible support of a community united in that grief was unprecedented, even in a part of the island that has known more than its share of tragedy.

This documentary was summed up in the final moments when Tommie Gorman asked John McAreavey if he could forgive his wife’s killers.

“Well, nothing’s impossible. I still haven’t made my mind up. There’s a calmness in me that at times I can’t understand. But the more I think about it, I realise that’s Michaela. Because I know where she is now and it’s a better place than here.”

His close friendship with his father-in-law was equally evident – but what was awe-inspiring was Mickey Harte’s ability to deal with the hardest cross a father could be asked to bear.

“I couldn’t imagine how I’d live without faith, if I didn’t believe Michaela was in a place where she could still influence our lives. It doesn’t make life any easier for us – we still miss Michaela dreadfully every day,” he said.

“There’s not a day since I heard the dreadful news that I’ve not cried a lot of times. The days ahead I will continue to do that because human emotion takes you to places that you are out of control for a while, but then you get a sense of calm, this ability to look to the higher plane and I feel blessed that I’ve got that sense of calmness that comes from God,” he added.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.