Funeral takes place of Inishowen man killed in tragic accident in Galway

The funeral of the Inishowen man who sadly died after an accident in Co. Galway in the early hours of Sunday morning has taken place.

Mark McDaid (Ned) was walking along the N83 at Cahervoley, Cummer, Co. Galway when struck by a car at approximately 12.30am. He was rushed to University Hospital Galway but tragically passed away due to his injuries.

Mr McDaid, who was in his forties, had been visiting his brother Adrian who is being treated for injuries he suffered while working on a boat in Rossaveal harbour last Monday.

In a moving Eulogy, at a packed St Patrick's Church, Aughaclay, Malin this morning, his son, also called Mark, said his father was a ‘great dad,’ who was ‘funny and loved the craic’.

"He would never be able to stay angry for long, without seeing the brighter side of things. Dad was a real family man; he always done his best by us and mum."

He continued: "He always told us how much he loved us and ensured we never wanted for anything.”

Mark Jnr told how his father was a "great son, brother, husband, dad, stepdad, granda and a friend to everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him".

He added how his father will be "deeply missed" by all and poignantly said that his family "hope to grow to be as kind, loving and great as you".

Fr Charlie Logue, who concelebrated Mass, told mourners how tragic Mark's death was as he visiting his brother in hospital.

“It's the thing that makes the whole thing so sad, that it was actually a visit to the sick that he was doing that he met his final end,” Fr Logue said. “We come with many questions and there will be very different answers today.

"But we come, not looking for answers but we come looking for consolation and peace.

“We don't get answers but we get hope and consolation and if there was anybody that had hope, it was Mark himself.

“No matter how bad things are, he would always come back with an answer. His mother Bernadette told me that she would be giving out to him and he'd say 'dry your eyes and carry on'.

“In a sense that's too casual to say that today because there is too much sadness and too much tears to say that. But at the same time, there is something in that personality that's needed today.”

Fr Logue told mourners of Mark's love for his job as a truck driver. He described Mark's job as a 'vocation'.

“It was more than just a job, it was a passion, it was almost like a vocation where he travelled the whole continent,” Fr Logue said.

He told a story of Mark's first trip to London as a lorry driver.

“He told the story himself of his very first time when he was given a lorry to take a delivery to west London.

"Whoever gave him the job asked him 'have you ever been in England before?' and seemingly he was in England before, when was 10 years old with his father. He said 'aye, I've been in England before surely and I know it well' and with that he headed off to London to make his delivery.

“On the boat he met some of his fellow truckers and he asked them 'how will I get to' wherever it was and they said 'do you have the A to Z of London' and he said the very famous line, 'what's that?'.

“He was able to purchase the A to Z of London and whoever was beside gave him the directions and then he was getting doubtful and he rang his father and his father gave him a few more instructions and without any further adieu he landed and delivered his load.

“I'm going to use that story as a parable because we're all rudderless, we don't have a map for the future. We're all saying to ourselves particularly his wife and children and his father and mother and brothers and sisters, they're all saying 'how am i going to negotiate the future without Mark.”

“It's particularly sad coming up to Christmas. It's also very sad that while he and Katie were together for 20 years they were only married in the summertime. Nearly everything we hear about it, there is so much tragedy.

"But I think we'll have to take Mark's words for it again and we'll have to dry our eyes and try and go on."

Mark was buried in St Mary’s Cemetery, Lagg, Malin.