Hundreds of mourners paid their respects to former garda Thomas (Tom) Nangle, at his funeral mass in St Joseph's Church, Greevagh. Mr Nangle, 55, a native of Carownadargney, was a brother-0in-law of former Minister for Justice, Sean Doherty, and had been ill for some time. he came to national prominence in 1983 at the time of the so-called 'Dowra Affair.' He had bee charged with assaulting a man in Dowra, County Cavan, but the charge was dismissed when the alleged victim failed to appear, having been arrested and detained by the RUC hours before the court. At his funeral, he was remembered, however, for his passion for music and gaelic football, especially his local Geevagh club. his love of life, his role in a number of community activities, including the erection of a monument to the Geevagh Prisoners of 1908, and for his courage during his long illness. Members of the Geevagh club formed a guard of honour at the removal from Shivnan's Funeral Home to St Joseph's Church and a club jersey rested on Mr Nangle's coffin. Among those in attendance at the removal and funeral Mass were former EU Commissioner and Minister for Finance, Ray MacSharry; Minister of State, Michael Finneran; Deputies Eamon Scanlon, John Perry, Denis Naughten and former Senator, Pascal Mooney. Mr Nangle's cousin, Kevin Waters delivered a warm tribute and spoke of his 24 years as a member of An Garda Siochana, saying he had been "an excellent member of the force" who had no equal when it came to preparing cases for court and ho was meticulous about his work. Mr Nangle's sister, Maura Doherty, widow of the former Minister, recalled that in the final months of his life, he had been one of the driving forces behind the centenary celebrations for the Geevagh Prisoners, ten men from the parish who were jailed in 1908, when they prevented postmen from delivering eviction notices to local tenants. Mr Nangle will also be remembered as a fine singer, and was also a brother of a well-known traditional musician and singer, Carmel Gunning. Last St Patrick's Day in Paddy's Bar, Geevagh, he launched Carmel's CD 'Corran Hill', which she dedicated to him. The late Mr Nangle is survived by his wife, Collette; daughters Kelley and Katie; son, Jamie; his close friend Margaret, and daughter, Lisa; sisters, Maura Doherty, Cootehall; Carmel Gunning, Sligo, and Bernie McMorrow, Sligo; aunt Margaret Waters, Drumnacool; and uncle, John Nangle, London. He was also an uncle of former journalist, historian and barrister, Paul Gunning, a son of Carmel. Mr Nangle was buried in Corrig Cemetery on Tuesday, December 30th. Sligo Champ, 07/01/09 Tweet

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