A lollipop man who died after being hit by a car in Co Donegal on St Patrick’s Day has been remembered at his funeral Mass as a person “who rose to do his bit” for the community.
Anthony Gallagher, who was in his 60s, and his brother Marty were returning home after a night out when the incident happened on Lower Main Street in Letterkenny.
Marty Gallagher sustained serious injuries in the incident and was unable to attend his brother’s funeral at St Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, in person.
Fr Anthony Hartnett, the chief celebrant, told the congregation Marty was watching online from hospital in Galway, where he continues to receive treatment.
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Welcoming Marty, Fr Hartnett said “inasmuch as you are able I invite you to join with us in prayer”.
Fr Hartnett noted the symbols of Anthony’s life, including his lollipop sign “which he used so often”; an Arsenal soccer shirt representing “his love of the sport and conversations about the sport”; and a copy of the Letterkenny Heritage Magazine “which in some way captures his pride in being a man from the town of Letterkenny”.
A number of school crossing guards flanked Mr Gallagher’s coffin, with their lollipop signs in hand, as it was brought into the cathedral.
Fr Hartnett said “when people these days struggle to stick at something for a year, Anthony managed to do it for 20″.
“Every weekday morning, this was his habit. He rose to do his bit for the people of Letterkenny, just out there at the bottom of the back road, helping to make sure the boys and girls could get to school safely, lollipop stick in hand,” he said.
“Others among us knew him as the brother of Martin or Marty, two brothers that made a virtue of brotherhood such was their commitment to one another. Others again were just happy to see Antony coming, but his virtue goes deeper still, known only to a select few, for the man we bury today devoted much of his time, his energy, even his pockets to his family.”
Fr Hartnett said Anthony was especially devoted to his late mother, Bridget, “whose passing he never forgot”, and to his late aunt Rosaleen, who “cared for him when his mother died”.
A teenager arrested after the fatal crash has since been released from custody and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
