HUNDREDS OF mourners turned out in Bray, Co Wicklow, yesterday for the funeral of an Irish backpacker who died last week after a swimming pool mishap in Thailand.
Dylan Curran (26) from Sugarloaf Crescent, Bray, Co Wicklow, died last Wednesday after almost a month in a coma.
He had suffered a blow to the head in a swimming pool accident while in Thailand early last month, on the return leg of a year-long trip to Australia.
He collapsed days later but doctors are unclear if the injury was the main cause of death.
He was flown home by air ambulance last week and died on Wednesday in St Vincent’s hospital, Dublin.
At his funeral Mass in St Fergal’s Church, Ballywaltrim, Bray, Fr Larry Behan told the mourners of the “great gift” Dylan was to his family and friends.
Fr Behan said the deceased, whom he described as a “gentle soul”, lived life to the full. “He loved life, family and friends, and in turn he was much loved by them,” he said. “If the love alone people have for Dylan could have kept him alive, we would not be here today.”
Fr Behan paid tribute to the “entire community of Bray” for their support of the Curran family during the last month.
He also told those gathered that the memories they have of Dylan are “very important” and should be retained so that his friends can “keep connected to Dylan”.
Close friends brought gifts to the altar during the service which signified some of Dylan’s loves in life.
These included a pair of sunglasses, which he often wore, and an Oasis CD to signify his love of the band.
He is survived by mother Elaine, father Daithí, his sister and brother, April and Tom, as well as extended family and friends.
His sister April said the family had been overwhelmed by the support of the Bray community since news filtered through of Dylan’s plight.
She said that although Dylan had been travelling through Australia for the last year, he was always a “home bird” who could not wait to get home to socialise with his friends.
The deceased’s older brother Tom said there “wasn’t a bad bone” in his sibling’s body.
“To say that he was one in a million is a massive understatement . . . Dylan was a special gift that came into our lives. There is five years between myself and Dylan. When I was a teenager Dylan would always be tagging along with my friends and I looking for something to do.
“But the tables really turned as we got older. It’d be me ringing him looking for the session.”
A number of friends also spoke during the moving service.
One friend said Dylan “was the life and soul of any party” and told how his last conversation with the deceased ended with the Bray native saying he was ready to come home from his travels.
“People loved to be around him, he was the coolest, most handsome looking lad . . . he just loved having fun,” he added.
The deceased was taken from the church to the Mount Jerome Crematorium.