Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Tributes paid as crash man dies
Second victim loses life after car smash
A MAN died yesterday from injuries in a road crash that also killed his friend.
Ronan Melarkey, 21, passed away two days after the singlecar accident that claimed the life of 22-year-old Luke Lynch.
A third man, also in his 20s, suffered injuries in the Co Fermanagh smash but they were not life-threatening.
Ronan lost his mum Tina to cancer just over a year ago.
Friend Matthew Mcgrade said the victim “didn’t deserve what happened to him”.
He added: “One thing about Rony is that to everyone else he would have seemed like a quiet lad, he was – but once you got to know him he was probably the most dead-on person you’d meet.
“He was just a kind-hearted lad. He was funny, he was sarcastic more than anything.” Mr Mcgrade told how his friend’s family had endured turmoil over the past five years. He said: “His dad Paddy had cancer and became better and then Ronan’s mother Tina passed away from cancer.
“It’s just a horrible, horrible thing. It’s all just hard to believe.” Tributes were also paid to Luke, who died at the scene in Clones Road, Newtownbutler.
In a statement, his GAA club First Fermanagh said: “He was a modest, talented, quiet and all-round really nice lad, who always seemed to get his hand into every tackle.
“He represented our club at every level and will be greatly missed by everyone connected to the club.”