Remains of Mick Morgan being flown home for funeral ceremonies
THE remains of well known Castlebar man Mick Morgan, who died suddenly in Thailand on March 29, are being flown home this weekend for burial.
Moran’s Undertakers have charge of the funeral arrangements.
The remains will repose in Coady’s Funeral Home, Linenhall Street, on Sunday (April 10) from 6 to 8 p.m. before their removal to the Church of the Holy Rosary.
Following Requiem Mass at 11 a.m. on Monday, the funeral will take place to the Old Cemetery where Mick’s parents, Michael and Mary, and his brother, Johnny, are interred.
Castlebar man Tomás Langan was with his friend, Mick, when he became ill on a stopover in Bangkok while the pair were travelling home from a wedding in Australia.
“Mick was not himself on the last day”, Tomás recalled for The Connaught Telegraph, a note of deep sadness in his voice.
“He was feeling very cold. He planned to see a doctor the next day”.
Later, in their accommodation, Tomás arranged for two cups of tea, with a shot of whiskey in each, to be sent to Mick’s room. When Tomás went to check on his friend he found him in a collapsed state.
Medical personnel were called but resuscitation attempts proved futile.
Prior to Bangkok, Mick and Tomás spent time in Australia at the wedding of Jill McGee, daughter of Denise and John McGee, from Castlebar.
“Jill married an Australian”, Tomás explained. “They are a lovely couple. We had a great time.
“Mick was absolutely determined to go to Jill’s wedding. He had been talking about the wedding and looking forward to it for two years.
“This was to be Mick’s last trip. He told me: 'I am getting too old now for all this travelling”.
Mick and Tomás spent time in Perth and also in the coastal location of Dunsborough which Tomás described as a “lovely resort town”.
“We had a nice relaxing time but I think the heat was getting to Mick.”
Tomás said he first got to know Mick back in 2004 when he (Tomás) won the Mayo Rehab Student of the Year Award.
He says that as a friend “Mick was the finest” and he will dearly miss him.
“Mick knew something about everything.,” he continued. “He would have made a great barrister if he had gone to college. You couldn’t catch him out. The person who could catch him out would deserve a medal”.
Mick Morgan, who would have been 62 on November 2 next, was a familiar figure on the streets of Castlebar easily recognisable by his long hair and lush beard.
“He was renowned for his friendly character and deadly wit,” explained Johnny Mee, writer of the popular ‘Auld Stock’ series in The Connaught Telegraph.
Mick Morgan, who latterly lived at Rowan Drive, Castlebar, is survived by a brother, Padhraic.
In a tribute to Mick, Councillor Blackie Gavin, chairman of Castlebar Municipal District, said he had been a great ambassador for Castlebar travelling extensively throughout the world as part of his work for Rehab and the Mayo Emigrants Association”.
“He was kind, gentle and humorous,' Councillor Gavin explained, “well loved by everybody who knew him.'