By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/1/12
The lacrosse world is mourning the death of Little Flower girls’ lacrosse coach Abigail “Abby” O’Beirne, who was killed Wednesday afternoon in a one-car accident on Route 309 in Hilltown Township in Bucks County.
O’Beirne, 27, of Perkasie and a graduate of Mount St. Joseph, was coach at Little Flower the past two years after serving as an assistant at King’s College in Luzerne County.
O’Beirne was a teacher for students with special needs in grades 1 through 6 at Holy Innocents School in the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia, according to an article in Philly.com.
Philly.com also reported that O’Beirne was due to be married in January.
O’Beirne’s 1997 Mercedes Benz, struck a guardrail and caromed into a median strip, police said. She was ejected through the front passenger-side window, police said. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
“She made a tremendous difference with the team and touched many lives in a short time,” said Archbishop Carroll coach Lorraine Beers, who coached against O’Beirne in the Catholic League. “She will be missed.”
Beers said O’Beirne was the league representative to the Philadelphia Area Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.
O’Beirne was a 2008 graduate of Division I Mount St. Mary’s University where she earned a bachelor of science in secondary education with a concentration in social studies.
She was a four-year member and two-year starter of the Mt. St. Mary’s lacrosse team where she played defensive midfield.
O’Beirne helped the Mount to two Northeast Conference championships and four NEC conference finals during her career. She registered 41 ground balls, 22 draw controls, and 26 caused turnovers while adding five goals and five assists.
She played four years on both the field hockey and women’s lacrosse team at Mount St. Joseph and served as team captain for the women’s lacrosse team in her senior year. She was named All-Catholic Academy League in 2004 and earned All-League honorable mention in her junior campaign. She helped her 2001 squad to the Catholic Academy League championship.
She is survived by her parents, Gail and David; brothers David, Sean, and Kevin; and sister Lily. A brother, Edward, died in 1987.
Visitation was set for 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at Holy Innocents Church, 1337 E. Hunting Park Ave., before an 11:30 a.m. Funeral Mass there, with burial in Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem..
