One of Patsy’s greatest friends and neighbours and former SDLP MLA Tommy Gallagher said he was “shocked and distraught at the news of my old friend’s death".

“We would have met up nearly every other day and my wife Eileen and I were on holiday in County Mayo when we got the terrible news.

“Firstly, I want to offer my deepest sympathy to his wife Dolores and his son Matthew as it must come as a terrible shock to them and with his two brothers Liam and Brendan.

“I am very distraught and very shocked, and he was a very dear friend.

“I am just so upset about his death but beyond that, he was very well known in the local and wider area, and he was such a generous person in so many ways.

“Patsy was always about helping others and he will be such a huge loss now that he is gone.”

Mr. Gallagher added that Patsy was exemplary in the “empathy, sympathy and kindness he showed to those who were at their most vulnerable when they lost loved ones.”

“This he did with great dignity and respect for all.

“That was Patsy, and he was so helpful, and he had this great heart in all kinds of circumstances and that marked him out as an exceptional person.

“But he leaves us with a lot of happy memories as he was very witty and eloquent and he could always have a laugh at himself.

“He was a very generous person and a wonderful man, and we will miss him terribly.

Meanwhile, Patsy’s fellow undertaker and neighbour Peter Carty from Garrison said his passing was a massive shock to the entire community.

“It was a desperate shock, and I was only talking to him a few days ago and he seemed to be in great form.

“As a colleague and a neighbour, I want to express my deepest sympathy to his wife Dolores, son Matthew, brothers Liam and Brendan and the wider family.

“Patsy was great in his community and great in the job that he did and was a rock for so many families in very trying circumstances.

“As a colleague, he was always helpful, and we always worked well together as neighbours in what we did.

“I just can’t believe it and we as undertakers are always in contact with families in grief but you don’t really expect it to come to your door and it must have been a great shock.

“Patsy was always so youthful and was so witty and it is a terrible blow to the whole community.

“We will never forget his many qualities.”

Patsy will be deeply missed by his beloved wife Dolores, son Matthew (Aideen), Brothers Liam & Brendan, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and a large circle of family and friends.

Requiem Mass will take place on Friday, April 19 in St. Patrick's Church, Belleek at 11am with interment in the adjoining cemetery.