‘The heavens are in tears’ for woman who died at Belfast nightclub, funeral told

By Claudia Savage (PA)

“The heavens are in tears” for a 24-year-old woman who died in a Belfast nightclub after a life “filled to the brim with love”, her funeral service has heard.

Fr Darren Brennan read a statement from Chloe Ferris’s parents at her funeral service in Belfast on Thursday, where they wished their daughter a happy birthday as she would have turned 25 on Wednesday.

Ms Ferris, from west Belfast, died in the Lux nightclub in the early hours of Sunday.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out but it is understood police inquiries are continuing to determine the cause of death.

Two men in their 20s have been arrested and questioned on suspicion of drug-related offences before being released on police bail for further inquiries.

On Thursday a large crowd gathered for her funeral during heavy rain before heading inside St Paul’s Church on the Falls Road.

Welcoming Ms Ferris’s loved ones to the service, Fr Brennan said: “None of us would wish to be here, in fact, we shouldn’t be here, but we are here.

“And it’s like even the heavens are in tears as we bring the remains of Chloe Ferris, a beautiful, special, vibrant, blossoming young woman, to offer this mass for the repose of her soul.”

Reading words written by Ms Ferris’s mother Sharon and father Declan, Fr Brennan said the love she was shown “was so great, she had loads to spare”.

He continued: “So in her short life, she did indeed share that love. She was so generous with it to all her friends and the people she met throughout her life.”

The priest said Ms Ferris “loved her holidays” and was “so proud” of her beauty business.

“She loved holidaying and she never blooming stopped holidaying,” he told mourners.

“Holidaying from America, touring with Kathleen, Laura and Nicole, to partying in Ibiza with the sisters, yes Chloe loved a party or two.

“Chloe joined a cross-community group, RCity, which had a great programme running missions to Africa, helping the children of Blanco. RCity not only had a great influence in Chloe’s attitude to life, but also a desire to see more of what our world has to offer.

“But all this travelling, partying, had to be paid for, and dad’s pockets were only so deep, therefore Chloe’s little business had to flourish. And indeed it did. It flourished, and it flourished, and that was something she was so proud of, and not only her.

“We actually think she named it wrong as Chloe’s Beauty. It should have been Agony Aunt Chloe’s Therapy, for she has listened to all her clients’ stories and problems all day long. And not only did she never say a bad word about them, she just loved them all.”

Fr Brennan said Ms Ferris’s “best client of all for therapy and stories” was her brother Christopher, and the pair shared an “immeasurable” love for each other.

Her parent’s statement concluded: “PS, how could we forget, happy 25th birthday. Chloe girl, we love you.”

Fr Brennan asked: “What could you add to those beautiful words?

“Of course, it didn’t come close to summing up Chloe’s life. As short as it might have been, it has been absolutely filled to the brim with activity, with using her gifts, her talents, and sharing them generously with everyone she met.

“But above all, it’s been filled with love. Love is the word that just kept coming out of those pages.”

Ms Ferris’s white coffin bore pink flowers, with some mourners wearing pink bows in their hair.

The coffin was carried by her group of her friends known as the “sister squad”.

A photo of Chloe Ferris is held by her cousin, after her funeral mass at St Paul's Church in Belfast. Chloe Ferris died in the Lux nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, and police investigating her death have arrested two men on suspicion of drug offences. (Photo by PA)