Father of four, Tony McDermott, 53, was laid to rest at St. Tierneys Church, Rosslea on Wednesday following his sudden death as a result of a work place accident last Friday.

Mr. McDermott, a truck driver who most recently worked for Cillmhantain Transport, was killed when he sustained a head injury during an incident with a lorry in a business park in Naas, County Kildare in the early hours of Friday, February 17.

Originally from Surrey, Mr. McDermott moved with his parents Benny and Kay to Rosslea, where his father ran McCague’s Bar and a young Tony played for Roslea Shamrocks GFC.

He moved to Newtownbutler when he married Bernadine and they had four children: Neil, Gary, Karl and Kayla. During his time in the village, Mr. McDermott also represented Newtownbutler First Fermanaghs GFC. 
Lorries were Mr. McDermott’s passion and he spent a lot of time truck driving abroad. He began driving with Smith Transport of Rosslea, followed by Nethercott’s of Newtownbutler.

Mr. McDermott’s wake at his parents’ home at Corner Croft Cottage, Aughadrumsee was attended by many family, friends and colleagues from the lorry driving fraternity.

In a poignant facebook post, his son Neil wrote: “Tomorrow heaven will gain a legend and a saint. I’m the proudest son in this world to have called u daddy. Never once did u let me down. What a man you were.”

It is understood that a post-mortem took place on Monday at Naas General Hospital and that Mr. McDermott’s death is the subject to  Garda and Health and Safety Authority investigations.