DNA tests carried out on a body discovered in the Hudson River on Thursday, February 7 confirmed last week that it was the body of 29-year-old missing Roscommon man Tony Devine.Devine, who went missing from midtown Manhattan on Friday, November 30, 2007 was waked at Williams Funeral Home in the Bronx on Sunday. A funeral Mass was held on Monday in St. Barnabas Church in Yonkers.Hundreds gathered over the course of the two days to say their final adieus to Devine, who was known and well-loved in the Irish community of the Bronx and Yonkers.Colorful pictures depicting the busy life of Devine both as a child growing up in Tulsk, Roscommon and an immigrant in the U.S. adorned both the funeral home and the church.Mourners gathered in clusters on Sunday afternoon and evening to share fond memories of their friend, who worked as a carpenter since his arrival in New York nine years ago.Some shared stories of the good times they had with Devine at various social gatherings, others, who had the pleasure of working with him, reminisced about the laughs they used to share together. And others, who just knew Devine from his friendly hellos and cheeky smile around Woodlawn and Yonkers, shed a tear for the loss of a good man.On Monday while the heavens opened up with rain and as the strains of "Ave Maria" delicately rippled through the church, friends of Devine spilled into the aisles to pay their final respects to a man they loved so dearly.Father Brendan Fitzgerald, who presided over Mass, told a full house that although Devine's life was brief, it was enjoyed in the best way he knew possible. "And not only did (Devine) have fun, he was a regular at Mass every weekend," said Fitzgerald.Not knowing the day or the hour, Fitzgerald told mourners that life can be a long or a short one so, "now is the time to accept Jesus into your lives."Fitzgerald des-cribed to mourners the love and admiration people had for Devine by the way they joined forces when the young Roscom-mon man first went missing. "For weeks ye all came together to look for him. Ye combed the streets, ye put posters up everywhere. Ye did everything possible to find him and that shows the love ye all had for him," said Fitz-gerald.Fitzgerald told the story of how the young man once bid on a Roscommon football jersey at an Irish Lobby For Immigration Reform fundraising day at Gaelic Park in 2006. "James (his Christian name) was a regular at the mart in Roscommon bidding on cattle. Well, this day he put his bidding skills to play when he won this Roscommon Jersey," said Fitzgerald, pointing to the bright yellow county jersey resting on Devine's coffin at the top of the church. Friends and family who were with Devine in Gaelic Park that Sunday shared a smile with one another at the fond memory.Devine's close friend James McFadden and Devine's girlfriend Anna Fontana gave the first and second readings, and his sister-in-law Valerie Reynolds remembered him in the prayers of the faithful. Tears of sadness trickled down the faces of those who knew Devine well, and those who only knew the man through the exchange of pleasantries.In a sad departure, Devine's body was carried out of the church in an elegant cream-colored coffin by his five closest friends and his brother Martin. On Tuesday evening, Devine's body was flown back to Ireland accompanied by his brother and friends. He will be waked in the Devine family home in Tulsk on Wednesday and Thursday and will be laid to rest on Friday morning.