The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Massive turnout at funeral of much loved Padhraic
PADHRAIC MORAN (50) DIED IN FREAK ACCIDENT JUST MINUTES AFTER RINGING WIFE
MEMBERS of Beale GAA club are in turmoil this week following the death of much-loved club man Padhraic Moran in last Wednesday’s freak road accident near Birdhill.
“On a personal level we’ve lost a wonderful friend; on a club and town level the loss is every bit as great,” close friend and Beale GAA assistant secretary John Hennessy told The Kerryman.
The club came out in full force to form a massive guard of honour at his funeral from St John’s Church in Ballybunion on Monday morning in clear testament to the affection in which he was held.
Mr Moran died on Wednesday when his car skidded off the Dublin to Limerick road and into a ravine – between the Birdhill and Castletroy junctions – in a freak hail shower. He was on his way back from Dublin to his beloved wife Anne at their Corbally home when the crash occured, just minutes after he called her to say he was nearly there.
Finuge native Anne, his mother Mai, brothers Michael, Peter and Diarmuid, sister Kerry, nephews, nieces and extended family were comforted by thousands of mourners over the week, with Ballybunion rallying to the popular family’s side throughout Monday and Tuesday.
Mr Moran worked in insurance for the last 11 years as a highly-regarded employee of Zurich Life.
A son of the late, great Micko Moran and a first cousin of Kerry legend Ogie Moran, he lived for all things Beale and Kerry, as well as Munster rugby.
“Padhraic and the entire Moran family were so proud to attend the recent launch of the Beale GAA history ‘Sand in our Boots’ in which they feature heavily. It’s just so hard to make sense of his loss so soon after the high of the launch and the McNamee Award,” Mr Hennessy said.
“Padhraic was an absolute gentleman, someone who engaged fully with everyone he met, asking after their families and always enquiring about the fortunes of Beale on his regular trips to visit his mother Mai at her home on the Cliff Road. He went about things in his own quiet way always and was incredibly generous when it came to fundraising for Beale and for so many other sporting organisations in North Kerry,” Mr Hennessy added.