Body of Tyrone man killed in Australian crash brought home to be laid to rest
News

Body of Tyrone man killed in Australian crash brought home to be laid to rest

THE BODY of a Tyrone man tragically killed in a crash in Australia has been brought home to be laid to rest by family and friends.

22-year-old Tiarnan Rafferty died when the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car in a Sydney suburb last week.

Despite being treated at the scene by emergency services, he was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The funeral mass for Tiarnan will take place this weekend in his home village.

Requiem Mass will take place at 1 pm on Sunday in the village of Galbally, Co. Tyrone.

It was initially thought that it would take up to 10 days for Mr Rafferty’s body to be returned home from Australia.

Mr Rafferty was a former student of St Ciaran’s College in Ballygawley and had been working in construction in Australia.

His mother is the national treasurer of Republican party Saoradh.

Barry Monteith, an independent representative on Mid-Ulster District Council is a friend of the family and spoke to the Belfast Telegraph about the loss.

“To have to deal with the trauma of a death is bad enough, but to have to deal with it when someone is so far away would be almost insurmountable if it wasn’t for that organisation. I could not pay enough tribute to them.”

Mr Rafferty is survived by his parents Sharon and Damien, sister Aine and brother Cathair.