Irish woman shot dead in New York was denied justice, funeral hears

An Irish woman shot dead in a suspected murder-suicide by her partner was denied justice in this world, her funeral has heard.

The body of Denise Morgan, 39, who was originally from Co Louth, was found at a home in the Glendale area of Queens in New York last month.

Her 33-year-old partner was Joed Taveras was found dead in the same property with a gun beside him.

Parish priest Sean Dooley expressed hope the mother-of-one’s death would contribute to a better understanding of the “scourge of domestic violence”.

Family and friends of Ms Morgan gathered at the Church of the Assumption in Tullyallen, Co Louth, on Saturday for her funeral.

“Denise was stolen from us, her life was suddenly cut off in a brutal way and sadly there will be no justice for her in this world,” he said.

“The precious cornerstone and the sure foundation of our faith and our family peace has been violently shaken. But some very deep roots remain intact.”

Fr Dooley said the community was “traumatised with a flood of various emotions”.

He said Ms Morgan would be remembered by those who loved her as a “lovely, bubbly and polite woman who always had time to greet another person”.

The priest said she was a woman “oozing with love” who was born to be a mum.

She said her daughter Mollie was the “centre” of her life.

“We ponder how this could have happened to such a beautiful young woman,” he added.

“Hopefully her tragic death will help us as a community to develop an understanding of domestic violence and call out inappropriate behaviours and the cultural attitudes that underpin our domestic violence scourge.”

After the service, Ms Morgan was taken to the church’s adjoining cemetery for burial.