The daughter of a tourist killed in an M50 crash has thanked the people of Ireland for their support following his tragic death.
Brian McFarlane, 63, from the Oxfordshire village of Sutton Courtenay, was on a motorcycling holiday with his friend Paul Ingram, 59 in June. Both men were killed when on the Dublin motorway on Friday, June 3.
The Irish biker community organised rallies in their honour. They provided an escort for the remains of Mr Ingram as his coffin was repatriated to his family in Nottinghamshire on Tuesday – and yesterday they mounted a guard of honour for a cremation service for Mr McFarlane in Dublin.
Mr McFarlane’s daughter Emma spoke to Joe Duffy on Liveline earlier today to thank gardai and bikers for their help and kindness after her trip to Ireland along with her brothers Robert and Ryan, her partner Jon and son Ben,10.
She said: “We were asked if we wanted a guard of honour to the airport. It was so moving and touching that people would do that for us, we’re complete strangers.
“That’s the real positive side to social media, it can bring people together. It was incredible to see those bikers with love and support for us. They had tears in their eyes even though my dad was a complete stranger to them, it’s something we’ll never forget.
“I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone, Staffords funeral home, everybody in Ireland, the taxi drivers, hotel staff, everybody, especially the biker community and police. From all the trauma and everything we’ve been through, I’ve a full heart, so thank you so much from me and my family.”
Emma said that her father “was on a motorbike from a young age”, and that he was her rock.
She added: “He retired in his 50s, he was an amazing dad. We lost our mum to cancer nine years ago so dad was our rock, he was always there for us. He was an incredible dad and grandad.
“My Dad met Paul on a cruise three years ago and they became close friends from both having an interest in motorbikes. They dreamed of travelling the Irish coast - I’ve great photos from my Dad on it.
“They were at the end of their travels when they had their accident. They sent me pictures of the Titanic and Game of Thrones set. They were having a great time.”
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