Balloons and rainbows at funeral for Belfast girl who died after contracting Strep A

By David Young, PA

Balloons were released into the sky as a large crowd gathered in Belfast for the funeral of a five-year girl who died after contracting Strep A.

Several mourners wore rainbow coloured ties as they said farewell to Stella-Lily McCorkindale.

Floral tributes, included ones shaped as a angel and a teddy bear, were placed outside her grandmother’s home in the north of the city ahead of the funeral on Wednesday afternoon.

More than one hundred people stood outside the terraced house as Stella-Lily’s pink coffin painted with rainbows and stars was taken outside after a funeral gathering.

The song Shake it Off by Taylor Swift was played before balloons of different colours were released.

The coffin was then placed into a horse drawn carriage which led a cortege on a slow walk to the nearby Shankill Road.

From there, mourners travelled on to Roselawn crematorium in the east of the city.

Stella-Lily was a P2 pupil at Black Mountain Primary School.

She died last week from an illness linked to the Strep A bacterial infection.

The deaths of 16 children with Strep A have been confirmed in the UK in recent months.

Last week, Stella-Lily’s death was described by her school as a “tragic loss”.

“Stella-Lily was a very bright and talented little girl, and very popular with both staff and children, and will be greatly missed by everyone at school,” the school said in a statement.