The Irish say the dead will go straight to heaven if it rains at a funeral, as it did during the service and burial of Michael Tierney.

The father-of-one, who has strong Irish connections, was laid to rest and hundreds of mourners attended the event to say their final farewell to him.

The traditional Catholic funeral service was held yesterday at St John Fisher Church in Rochester.

Hundreds of people packed into the church and braved the rain to follow the horse-drawn carriage carrying his white coffin into the cemetery.

Mr Tierney, 33, who was known as Mikey, suffered severe injuries in an alleged street attack in Haig Avenue, Chatham, on June 16, and died in a London hospital two days later.

His death sparked a wave of grief from across the community, including a large Irish contingent, and mourners were invited to wear the colours of the Irish tricolour at the service, which many did.

Mr Tierney’s heartbroken family also lined the route from the church to the cemetery with ribbons and the path mourners walked to his graveside was also adorned with flowers in the Irish tricolours.

The service, led by Father Gary Dyer, was due to start at 11am but because so many people were in attendance, at least several hundred, it took some time for people to follow his coffin into the church.

In fact, the so many people attended the service, not everyone could fit in the church and had to gather around the doorway to listen to the service.

Afterwards Mr Tierney’s coffin was followed down Maidstone Road, by a sea of mourners including his heartbroken mum and sisters and brother who led the way.

The procession followed the horse drawn carriage to the back of the cemetery where Father Gary committed his body to the ground.

The hundreds of mourners then packed around the graveside to see him buried and see the many floral tributes left by the back wall of the site in his memory.

Many of the large tributes had to be transported to the church on three-flat bed trucks as they were so big.

After the burial, his heartbroken family held a wake at the Chatham Suburban Club in Wyles Road.

His sister, Shelly Tierney, said: “We miss him every day and love him so much.

“Our lives will never be the same again. He was a wonderful dad to Jojo and we used to call him our dancing angel. He was always dancing about, like a little Michael Flatley.”

George French, 39, of Ansell Avenue, Chatham, and William Fleming, 26, of White Road, Chatham, are in custody charged with murdering Mr Tierney.

Fleming’s girlfriend, Kelly Wicker, 27, of Haig Avenue, Chatham, is accused of assisting an offender and has also been remanded in custody.

A 39-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, both from Chatham, were held on suspicion of assisting an offender. The woman has now been released without charge and the man had his bail extended until September 14.