by Eamonn MacDermott, Inishowen Independent
THE chairman of Burt GAA has said it is tragic
Mickey Harte had to suffer losing a much-loved
daughter when he helped so many others cope with
bereavement.
Colm Davis recalled how the Tyrone manager visited
the club to help it deal with the death of two club
members in a car crash almost two years ago.
Mr Davis said: “We asked Mickey Harte could he come
and speak to us following the death of our members
Gary McLaughlin and Darren Downey and we had no
difficulty in getting him.
“He came to talk to us about dealing with
bereavement within a club context speaking from
personal experience as he had dealt with death
within the Tyrone county team.”
He added: “I remember he helped us a great deal and
emphasised the importance of talking to one another.
“He reiterated that it is important to speak out
about what you are feeling and he made himself
available to talk privately to any club members who
wanted to speak to him.
“Speaking from his own experience he also emphasised
the importance of remembering and keeping the good
times to the fore.
“Obviously now that this tragedy has come to his own
family it is a very different situation and I cannot
imagine what it must be like to lose a child but it
is so tragic that a man that helped so many others
cope with bereavement should now have to deal with
this.”
Colm Davis added: “He was very useful to our club in
helping us cope at that time and I just hope that he
can get whatever help he needs to get through this.
“Our club will be holding a meeting later this week
and I am sure that a message of condolences to the
Harte family will be top of the agenda.”
Three suspects have been charged with Michaela
McAreavey’s murder in Mauritius. All three were
employees at the hotel where she and her husband
John were on honeymoon. Her remains are expected to
arrive in Belfast today and her funeral is to take
place next week. |
