Funeral held for man who died after fall at mother’s home

A Co Roscommon community gathered on Saturday to pay their final respects to a man who died while preparing for his mother's funeral.

Hundreds congregated at St Patrick’s Church in Cloonfad while others stood on the village’s main street as a funeral Mass for Patrick (Pa) Bowens took place.

Mr Bowens (44), a father-of-three, died on Wednesday, two days after suffering serious injuries when falling from a ladder as he erected lights at his mother’s home ahead of her funeral.

Parish priest Fr Joe Feeney told mourners that the community was struggling to come to terms with the deaths.

“There is great sadness, sorrow and shock. People prayed and hoped that Pa would recover,” he said.

“The goodness of people has never been more apparent than the community trying to bring comfort to Pa’s family.

“It has been an outpouring of love and compassion as people come to terms with what has happened.”

Fr Feeney said death was “a random visitor and never has that been more apparent” than with the events in Cloonfad over the last week.

‘Great family man’

The priest said Mr Bowens was “a great family man and a great community man”, who was always quick to help his neighbours.

He said that the Bowens family was well-known and liked and that this was evident in the large numbers of people who expressed their sympathy at Ms Bowens’ funeral on Thursday and at the funeral of her eldest son days later.

Fr Feeney said he had called to see Mr Bowens while his mother was in hospital and he told mourners of the great welcome he had received in his house.

Gifts offered during the funeral Mass included tools which Mr Bowens used in his work as a builder and an All-Ireland medal he won for tug-of-war.

An organ donor card, which Mr Bowens had carried for the past decade, was also included among the gifts.

Mourners were told that his kidneys had been successfully transplanted to a man in his 50s and a 38-year-old woman.

Mr Bowens is survived by his wife Elaine, sons Jason and Adam, daughter Ciara, father Sean, brothers David, Michael, Sean, Tommy and Eamon and his sister Marina.