The Late Jim Griffin A closely-knit community is grief-stricken following the tragic death of 28 year old Jim Griffin in an horrific two-car traffic accident on the main Killarney to Tralee Road. Kildimo came to standstill for the removal and funeral at St Joseph's church. The untimely death of such a young man has death a hammer blow to the small community where he had returned to live in recent months after an absence of several years. Jim, who was laid to rest in Kildimo Cemetery, had been an enthusiastic and popular member of Kildimo GAA Club, and his friends in the club have been devastated by his death. The club's fixtures over the weekend were cancelled as a mark of respect for their deceased comrade. The membership of the club- including players of all ages to senior officials, among them chairman Tony O'Brien - made up a sizeable portion of the ranks of mourners that filed into Downey's Funeral Home at Pallaskenry and St Joseph's Church over the weekend. One club official said that the death had come as a deep shock to him personally and to the entire community. "Last Saturday, I'd spoken to him at a match, and little did I realise that just a week later, we'd be preparing to lay him to rest," said the club's Bord na nOg chairman, Liam Hayes. Jim had been working elsewhere in the country for the past few years and had just recently returned to reside in his native parish after having secured employment closer to home. Members of the club and other grieving friends and neighbours have been rallying round his devastated family in the days since the tragedy. Jim is survived by his parents Tom and Kathleen, brothers Tom and Rob, sisters Carol, Deirdre and Kate and grandmother Lily. He was also an uncle to three young children, Emma, Mark and Laura. His death occurred at the scene of the two-car crash on the N22 route just three miles from Killarney, at around 5.40pm. The driver of the other vehicle died from his serious injuries that he sustained in the crash. Courtesy of the Limerick Leader May 2003 Tweet

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