A light went out when Derry died, funeral of farm gun victim told
A CONTRACTOR who was gunned down while working on a farm late at night was ‘synonymous with hard work’, the congregation at his funeral in Co. Cork heard yesterday.
Agricultural and landscaping contractor Derry Coakley, 59, died from a single gunshot wound to the upper arm at Raleigh North outside Macroom at around 11.30pm last Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hundreds of people filed into St Colman’s Church in the town at midday yesterday for the Requiem Mass for the man described as the town’s ‘go-to person’.
Monsignor James O’Donnell told mourners that father-of-one Derry was a very obliging man. He said that Derry’s reply to being asked to do anything was always: ‘Just leave it with me.’
‘We all have our own memories of Derry. Like his father, Seán, his name was synonymous with hard work, with long hours of work, with machinery such as tractors and diggers, with efficiency, with honesty and with a desire to help and an inability to say no.
‘His importance in our community was well summed up during the week by one of his many friends who said that whenever there was a job to be done, whenever there was a problem, Derry was the go-to person.
‘We are all beneficiaries of Derry’s skill – many parts of our town and surrounding countryside have Derry’s imprint.
‘Every job that Derry took in hand was finished to perfection.’
He said Derry was a man of ‘faith and prayer’ who attended Mass every Sunday morning.
Monsignor O’Donnell said the death had saddened locals in the tight-knit town.
He stressed that it was hard to come to terms with the sudden passing of a vibrant person.
‘Tragic death, which is almost sudden and without warning, is like a blackout – without a chance to prepare, you are plunged into darkness. Our whole world is turned upside down,’ he said.
‘Last Tuesday night, Derry Coakley’s light was suddenly and tragically extinguished.’ Mr Coakley was shot while delivering a load of building waste to a farm at Curraheen, Raleigh.
He carried out private contracting work in addition to carrying out jobs for Cork County Council. In a statement, the local authority said that while Mr Coakley was not employed directly by them, he was well known to its staff as a contractor in the Macroom area.
The council extended its deepest sympathies to his family and friends on their loss.
He told the congregation that Derry shared his love of music with his daughter Deirdre and enjoyed bringing her and her friends to concerts in Killarney.
He was laid to rest in St Colman’s Cemetery. Offertory gifts included models of a tractor and a digger. His coffin had a family picture on top and a photograph of Derry on a tractor.
Macroom Tidy Towns and Macroom Ploughing Association provided a guard of honour.
Mr Coakley is survived by his mother, Joan, his daughter, Deirdre and his sister, Siobhán. He lived with his mother in Macroom.
Meanwhile, a 66-year-old man has appeared in court in Bandon, Co. Cork charged with the murder of Mr Coakley. Gerard Lynch appeared at a special sitting of Bandon District Court on Saturday. Mr Lynch was charged with the murder of Mr Coakley at Curraheen, Raleigh North, between October 23 and October 24.
Judge James McNulty was told that, in reply to his caution and charge, Mr Lynch told gardaí: ‘No comment.’
The retired cabinet-maker and father of two will appear in court again on November 2.
‘He was the town’s “go-to” person’ ‘Honesty, efficiency and a desire to help’