“DAMIAN left here at half seven to go to his work. He kissed me goodbye and said goodbye to all his kids and never came home. It is heartbreaking and unfair and I feel numb.” The sobering words of the wife of Derrygonnelly Harps stalwart Damian McGovern whose tragic death in a workplace accident in Enniskillen last week has left his family “shocked to the core.” Mr. McGovern, a father of four, was 47 years old and was dedicated to his wife Leeanne and their four children, Gavin (15), Rian (14), Ronan (12) and four year old Niamh. A popular figure in the community, his death has shocked the entire village of Derrygonnelly where the family lived.

Over 300 people wearing Derrygonnelly Harps jerseys lined the streets before and after Mr. McGovern’s funeral mass at St Patrick’s Church on Monday turning the village into a sea of purple and gold, a testament to a man whose three passions in life were family, work and football.

As a mark of respect, Fermanagh County Board postponed the senior county final between Derrygonnelly and Roslea Shamrocks at Brewster Park in Enniskillen on Sunday.

The village is a lot darker now and so is the McGovern home where people have been rallying around the family as they try to come to terms with their loss. A sign on the wall in the kitchen has a motto about ‘dreams’ on it but there is nothing dreamlike about this for Mrs. McGovern or the kids.

“I am devastated... I am so lonely. Damian was such a good person and did so much for people. I can’t believe this has happened,” Mrs. McGovern told The Impartial Reporter.

The couple got married in Derrygonnelly 17 years ago and set up home and a family, something that excited Mr. McGovern who was devoted to his four children and wife and always put them first.

“He was very proud of the kids and would have always motivated them to do their best. He always made time for all of us. We had a lovely family holiday in August in Lanzarote and we would have watched the football every weekend. We were very much a family, he was very much a family person. The day his first son was born he was so proud, all he wanted was his family. He was so excited about having that and everything he did was for his family. This is such a blow to us.” The children are devastated about losing their father and at his funeral they did him proud, says Mrs. McGovern, with Gavin and Rian helping to carry his coffin and Ronan taking part in a reading.

“They are so young to lose their father, they are shocked. I was very proud of them at the funeral and I know that Damian would have been proud too,” she said.

When he wasn’t working around the country, including as an undertaker in his village, Mr. McGovern loved nothing more than spending quality nights in with his family in front of the fire.

“A night in was in front of a big fire, watching TV and lying on the sofa, chilling with all of us around him. He was happy to come in to the fire lit, a shower, and lying up with the boys and Niamh, watching the telly and having a chat with them.” These are the type of cherished memories that Mrs. McGovern will treasure as she tries to deal with the days and months and years ahead. And while she has that comfort, she says she is finding her husband’s death difficult to understand.

“It’s devastating, and I can’t make sense of any of it, not in any way at all,” she said.