Westport remembrance service for accident victim

Westport remembrance service for accident victim well attended


Family prepares for funeral in Poland

Neill O’Neill

THE raw grief of his loved ones was palpable yesterday (Monday) in St Mary’s Parish Church in Westport, where a memorial service was held for Slawomir (Slawek) Gostomski, the Polish national who died in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital on Saturday, April 12, one week after he had been involved in a car accident in Islandeady.
Referring to the circumstance in which the accident took place as Slawek was returning from Mayo General Hospital where his wife Violet had earlier that day given birth to the couple’s second child - a girl since named Roxanne - Fr Charlie McDonnell said that life is ‘cruel, ironic and strange’.
“Slawek was coming back from the hospital with a heart full of joy, emotion and expectation and within minutes tragedy struck and he is gone from us,” he said. “What we see is a young man with a a wife and a young family, whose wife and parents loved him dearly, and people, somewhat like Jesus did on Good Friday, will be asking ‘my God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ We look on things with human eyes and we don’t have all the answers, but Slawek is at home now, at peace, just not in the home we all want him to be in.”
Fr Charlie described Slawek as an ‘honourable, good, decent and fit young man and a kind neighbour.’
There was a large congregation present for the service, which was attended by both locals and much of the Polish community now residing in Westport.
Following communion, Gerry Galvin from Westport Squash Club, where Slawek was a long-time and much valued member, spoke of how a ‘small club would always have a place in its big heart for a very special person’.
He added that Fr Charlie described Slawek correctly when listing out his attributes, but he forgot honesty, because Slawek was certainly an honest person. He described the enormous loss felt by all club members, and how Slawek had only recently moved into the top tier of the club’s ranking system, after many years of dedicated effort, calling him ‘a gentleman, a good guy that nobody will ever forget.’
Slawek’s remains are due to be repatriated to Poland on Friday, while in recent weeks there has been a local effort to fundraise and provide practical assistance to his family, with the funeral arrangements. This has been spearheaded by Garda Anthony McCabe, who was a neighbour, sparring partner on the squash court and close friend of Slawek and Violet. A bank account has been set up in Bank of Ireland on High Street in Westport for donations - account number 66323881, National Sort Code 903998.
At the end of yesterday’s service, Slawek’s mother Maria addressed the congregation in her native tongue. Her voice simmering with emotion and raw grief, many did not understand her words, but all were fully aware of her sentiments.