Retired Castlebar Garda dies after tragic fall

POPULAR?The late Christy McGrath, who died at the weekend. He was a retired garda.

Retired Castlebar Garda dies after tragic fall


Anton McNulty

A RETIRED garda who suffered fatal head injuries following a tragic fall in Castlebar will be laid to rest in his native Erris this afternoon (Tuesday).
Retired garda Christy McGrath passed away on Saturday after failing to recover from serious head injuries sustained in a fall in Castlebar the previous Sunday morning. The 68-year-old was a native of Killgalligan, Carrowteigue in Erris, and had lived in Castlebar for many years where he served as a member of An Garda SíochΡna.
Mr McGrath suffered a serious fall at the entrance to the Grove estate in Castlebar at approximately 1.25am on Sunday morning, October 19. Such were the seriousness of his injuries, Gardaí decided to immediately transfer him to Mayo General Hospital in the garda car rather than wait for an ambulance to arrive.
He was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of Mayo General Hospital where his condition was described as ‘very serious’, but he failed to recover.
Mr McGrath served for a number of years in Dublin’s Pearse Street Station before moving to Castlebar where he remained until his retirement in the 1990s. A single man, Mr McGrath continued to live in Castlebar after his retirement and was a respected member of the community.
He retained close links to his home place in Erris and his removal took place yesterday evening (Monday) from Healy’s Funeral Home in Barnatra to the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Carrowteigue.
His Funeral Mass will take place today at 12 noon with burial afterwards in Killgalligan Cemetery.