Assisted dying campaigner Brendan Clarke to be laid to rest in Westport today

A MAN who campaigned for assisted dying while suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is to be buried in Westport today (Tuesday).

Brendan Clarke, late of Balbriggan, Co Dublin, and formerly of Altamount Street, Westport, will be buried alongside his brother John in Aughavale Cemetery following funeral Mass in St Mary’s Church at 12.30pm.

A native of Westport who spent most of his life in Dublin, Brendan had called for the legalisation of assisted dying for people with incurable illnesses after contracting MND last year.

He was to address the Oireachtas committee on assisted dying in October but passed away last week after his condition rapidly deteriorated in recent times.

In an interview with The Sunday Times in June, he said that his doctors, to whom he was grateful, were ‘only prolonging a life that I don’t want to live’.

In a post on social media, his niece Tara Clarke described him as ‘an absolute hero’ who was ‘always joking, laughing and up to devilment’.

Paying tribute to her uncle’s campaign, she said: “Brendan used the last bit of his life to be a voice for people who don’t have a voice. His campaign is his legacy.”

Various others have paid tribute following the passing of Brendan, who has been described as ‘an inspiration’ and ‘one of the nicest people’.

People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, a long-time campaigner on the issue of assisted dying who had been in contact with Brendan, said he was ‘very sad’ to hear of his passing.

Brendan will be sadly missed by the extended Clarke family, his neighbours and friends.

May he rest in peace.