'He was larger than life, so much fun and always and ever had your back' - Funeral to take place of Luke O’Malley

CROSS remains in mourning after the passing of Luke O'Malley, whose funeral takes place this evening. 

A minute's silence was observed at a championship match between The Neale and Belmullet over the weekend in honour of the late Luke, has been remembered as ‘a larger than life’ figure.

The 49-year-old from Cross hailed from a well-known local family who are associated with a number of businesses in the South Mayo area. He passed away after a short illness.

Luke was a brother of Brian O’Malley, who is Assistant Secretary of Mayo GAA and a member of The Neale GAA, who have expressed their condolences to his family and relations.

His sister Siobhan described him as a ‘great brother’ and a ‘wild, wild boy that grew up to be a wild man’.

“He was larger than life, so much fun and always and ever had your back. No matter what you needed it was met with a ‘sound’,” she recalled.

“In [his wife] Mary, [children] Ava and Jamie he found his ‘why’. As a great brother and uncle he naturally was a wonderful Dad. Were I to offer any advice to Ava and Jamie now it would be this; be like your Dad.

“Be happy, be fund, be kind, be generous, take chances. Family come first but friends are important too. Be the person everyone wants to be with. And don’t go changing for anyone. Because that was Luke,” she added.

Pat Luskin, Chairman of The Neale GAA, described his passing as ‘a tragedy’ for the area.

“Any time I met him, he was a lovely fella,” he told The Mayo News.

“It’s just a tragedy. The whole parish is very much saddened by it all.”

Luke spent 31 years as an employee of ECC in Cornamona, where he worked in a variety of roles.

Paying tribute to him, ECC described Luke as ‘an extremely committed and hardworking employee’.

“Luke had a great ability to forge strong relationships with customers and haulage partners alike. Luke will be fondly remembered by everyone he dealt with. His big smile will be sorely missed by all at ECC. Everyone has a funny story about Luke and we will treasure those memories forever,” the company stated.

The ECC plant will close its operations tomorrow (Wednesday) as a mark of respect to Luke and his family.

Local county councillor Damien Ryan described him as a 'great community man' and 'a decent, honourable guy'.

"I don't think there's anybody that'd have a harsh word to say about the man," Cllr Ryan told The Mayo News.

He will be reposing at his residence (F12 V504) this evening from 4 pm to 8 pm. Removal from his residence will take place tomorrow to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Cross for funeral mass at 1pm with burial afterwards in Cross Cemetery.

Predeceased by his parents Patrick and Sal, Luke is survived by his wife Mary, their children Ava and Jamie, brothers Paraic and Brian, sisters Siobhan, Fiona, Sheila, Gráinne, Sinead and Nuala, parents-in-law Pat and Kathleen Loughlin, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, relatives, neighbours, work colleagues and a large of circle of friends.

May he rest in peace.