Tag Archives: Ger McMahon

Glowing tributes were paid to an Ogonnelloe solider at his Funeral Mass on Sunday following a tragic accident while on holidays in Spain a few weeks ago, writes Dan Danaher. There were heart-rending scenes when Private Gerard McMahon (24) was laid to rest with full military honours in the New Cemetery, Ogonnelloe. His sudden death came about a week after he had just returned home from a six-month tour of duty with the 63rd Infantry Group in Syria. Speaking at his Funeral Mass, the chief celebrant, Reverend Father Paul Murphy, the chaplain to the 1st Infantry Battalion in Galway recalled how one of his friends summed up the deceased. “One of his best friends said: ‘he didn’t say much, but you could write a book about him”. In a moving tribute, his mother, Carmel, recalled their lives changed forever on October 15 when they got the dreaded phone call that no parents wants that their beautiful son, Ger had died. …

COMMUNITIES in South-East Clare were united in mourning last weekend when news filtered through of the sudden death of young Ogonnelloe man, writes Dan Danaher. A serving soldier, Private Gerard McMahon (24), had just returned home from a six-month tour of duty with the 63rd Infantry Group in Syria. The death of Mr McMahon following a tragic accident while on holidays in Spain has left his heartbroken family and Ogonnelloe residents devastated. A postmortem is expected to take place at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Malaga. Gerard was a skilled marksman, winning brigade and all army competitions during his military career. Described as a keen sportsman, he participated in a number of sports notably hurling, football and rugby. At the time of writing, no definitive date was known for the arrival of the deceased’s body back to his residence in Ballyloughnane, Ogonnelloe, which is located a short distance from St Mary’s Church where it is expected a military funeral …