Galway emigrant back home at last

A lonely silence descended on a graveyard in North Galway as a community came together to bury a man most of them did not even know.

The remains of Sean Parker were buried in Glinsk Cemetery following prayers recited by local Parish Priest Fr. John McCarthy yesterday (Wednesday) at noon.

It was attended by a considerable number of local people who became Sean’s new family following his death in London last July after a very difficult life with some of it spent on the streets.

A tremendous combined effort resulted in Sean’s body being brought from London by Aer Lingus to Knock Airport and then local undertakers joined forces to ensure that Sean was buried with dignity beside his mother in Glinsk.

Former primary school principal, Marty Ward, who was deeply involved in the repatriation of the body to his home village said that the process did not cost anything to anybody either side of the Irish Sea.

“You could not believe the generosity of those involved in the undertaking business at both ends. The Glinsk community can also be very proud of their efforts,” Marty added.

The story of Sean Parker, who was 79 when he died at the end of July, is one that is replicated by many who emigrated during the ‘forties and ‘fifties.

His death in lonely circumstances has prompted the village of Glinsk in North Galway to come out in a determined effort to have him repatriated in his own community.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.