Doyle, Ryan
December 19, 2012The close-knit community of Leitrim has been plunged into grief following the death of one of its residents in Australia at the weekend.
Villagers are still coming to terms with Ryan Doyle's death and this evening the local Church of the Immaculate Conception is expected to be filled to capacity as the Doyle family and their friends gather to remember the 25-year-old. The well-known sportsman, who up until moving to Australia had played for the Liatroim Fontenoys, died in what police described as a road crash, which involved the taxi Mr Doyle was travelling in. News of the tragedy broke late on Sunday evening, with the taxi driver - a 26-year-old man - charged yesterday in connection with the local man's death. Leitrim parish priest Fr Peter McNeill, and chairman of the local GAC, Mr Dan Morgan, have paid tribute to Mr Doyle, who they said will be deeply missed both locally and in Australia. Mr Doyle had moved across the world three years ago in search of a job.
Two of his brothers - Kevin and Ronan - had also emigrated and it is understood they had been together just hours before tragedy struck. Fr McNeill said the family had been left "shell-shocked, numbed and bewildered" by the events. "No-one can comprehend how someone so young and had so much going for him has just gone; it just does not make sense," he said.
Adding that the distance was making things harder, Fr McNeill said Ryan's parents Willie and Jeanette, and his four siblings, grandfather Hugh and grandmother Kathleen, were taking some comfort from the support they have received to date.
"The family here have requested that we all come together and pray for Ryan and that is what we will do. They are a tight family unit and this tight-knit community will continue to do whatever it can to help over the coming days and week' Although it remains unclear when Mr Doyle's body will be flown home, Fr McNeill said it was "comforting" that two of his brothers will be travelling with him.
"Ryan and two of his siblings made a positive choice. They wanted to work and went where the work was. His parents have told me how he was saving money for himself but at the same time Ryan would send money home, he liked treating his family," the parish priest continued. "He was a livewire, a hard worker and someone who had a real sense of energy. If anyone turned up in Australia he would help them get a job, he had plenty of contacts both in the building trade and the mining industry, and was well respected by his peers. "Ryan was a very helpful young man, and was very caring. His family are devastated but at the same time so proud of the wonderful young man he was," added Fr McNeill.
Mr Morgan said Ryan and his brothers, like many local people who have moved overseas, were looking forward to returning home for Christmas. Extending his condolences to Ryan's loved ones, Mr Morgan said the sense of "shock and devastation" in the wider area was an indication of "just how well thought of Ryan was.
"There is a terrible sense of loss not just here, but on both sides of the world. There really is a mini Leitrim community out in that part of Australia and it is good to know that Ryan's brothers Kevin and Ronan are getting the support they need until they are able to bring their brother home," he said.
"Ryan was such a lovely young man and it was a pleasure to know him. He was a grafter, a true gent, and never would have passed by without saying hello. "My abiding memory of him will be his smile, it was infectious. None of this is making much sense; all we can do is rally round and support his family and friends in whatever way we can."
He added: "I am sure many local people, who had moved out to Australia, will return home to say their own farewells to Ryan. His poor parents, sister and brothers, everyone in fact, is just totally devastated. It's your worst nightmare come true."
Other tributes to Ryan have poured in, with locals leaving messages and thoughts about him online. 'A true gentleman that touched so many lives, will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him,' read one post while another referred to him as 'a lovely guy, from a lovely family.'
'Thinking of all the family circle, but special thoughts to his family left in Perth picking up the pieces. The support from the fellow Leitrim and Irish people out in Perth is a testament to the fact that Ryan was one in a million,' it continued.
Another online tribute described him as 'a true gem and one in a million.'
Courtesy of The Mourne Observer. Tweet
