Dad of four's tragic death on silver wedding anniversary

Sarah Saunderson • Published 6 Sep 2012 13:00

A mother-of-four widowed on the day of her 25th wedding anniversary has paid tribute to her "quiet and humorous" husband who died last week as a result of a tragic accident in their home.

Geraldine Morgan's husband Martin, who was just 49 years old, died in hospital three days after the accident at the family home at Cleen Park, Fivemiletown. His death on Wednesday, August 29 at the Critical Care Unit of South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, surrounded by his family, tragically took place on the couple's silver wedding anniversary.

They had celebrated the special event at home with friends and family the Saturday before, cutting a cake to mark the anniversary. Martin's accident occurred just the next day on Sunday evening.

Martin and Geraldine were both brought up in Coonian just two miles apart. The couple were married in 1988 and made their home in Cleen Park, where they lived for 25 years.

Educated at St. Joseph's P.S. Coonian, St. Mary's P.S. Fivemiletown and St. Michael's Grammar School, Enniskillen, for over two decades of his working life Martin worked with his father John in the building trade.

Paying tribute to her late husband, Geraldine Morgan said: "He was easy-going, quiet, hard-working and humorous. People said he was quiet, witty and modest. He was a good father and husband, devoted to his family and the home".

He loved playing cards and 45 was his game. The weekly game was "sacrosanct", his funeral mass last Saturday heard. He made a wide group of friends playing cards in Clogher, Coonian and Brookeborough.

He enjoyed Gaelic football and was a devoted Tyrone supporter, travelling to matches in Dublin and elsewhere. He was a life-long supporter of Manchester City, keeping the first shirt he ever bought in 1985. Good at working with his hands, he also enjoyed painting and decorating.

His widely attended funeral on Saturday at St. Joseph's Church, Coonian, was celebrated by Father Denis Dolan, accompanied by Father Lawrence Dawson from Clogher.

There were guards of honour of staff and pupils of St. Brigid's Primary School in Augher where his sister Josephine is Principal and staff and pupils from Mount Lourdes Grammar School, where his daughter Eilish attends.

The devoted father is survived by his wife Geraldine and their four children: Brendan (24) and his partner Stephanie, Ciaran (21), Dermot (20) and Eilish (15) and his father John.

He is further survived by his siblings Mary May (Maguiresbridge), Ann Keenan (Enniskillen), Susan Young (Killeter), Bernadette McKenna (Clogher), Josephine Mulligan (Coonian) and Niall Morgan (Killeter). Martin was predeceased by his mother Teresa in 1993.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 06 Sep 12

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