A grieving daughter is planning a loving tribute to her Northern Ireland dad following his tragic death in a construction accident in England six months ago.
Paddy-Joe McPeake, 72, from Portglenone tragically lost his life while working in Essex on August 4, 2022.
He was on a telescopic when he fell 30ft to his death in what police later told his family was "a completely freak accident".
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He was a loving father to his two daughters, Brenda Rodgers and Jolene McGarry and devoted to his nine grandchildren.
Recalling the events of that dreadful day, Jolene, 43, told Belfast Live: "Daddy would work in England for a few weeks at a time before returning to his family near Bellaghy.
"I had been talking to him a couple of times that day and he was in great form. He was a very bubbly character and always full of fun. I had planned to ring him again after dinner but something else came up.
"My husband Sean then got a phone call from one of daddy's colleagues to say that he had been in an accident but not to panic as he would be at the site in 20 minutes and ring us back.
"I started busying myself and was thinking then that we'd have to go over to England and bring him home but then I heard Sean on the phone again and saying 'oh no' so I realised it wasn't good news."
Mum-of-two Jolene, added: "He was on a telescopic, which is something similar to a fork truck but with a long boom on it. It seems that the boom of the telescopic was out a bit too far and it was enough to take the body of the telescopic off gravity, which caused the accident.
"Daddy came off the side and fell 30ft and was killed instantly. The police believe it was one of those completely freak accidents as he had no underlying illnesses or anything so I couldn't believe it.
"I always thought that I'd have daddy forever but nobody lives forever and that's what's so sad about it all. He loved life and lived for his family and at 72 years of age, he was fitter than me! He had two girls, myself and my sister Brenda, and nine grandchildren, all of whom he idolised."
"Daddy had worked in the lorry industry for over 50 years so to lose him in such a freak accident was very unfortunate. He had been over and back working in Essex for about 20 years," Jolene explained.
"He was very well known for delivering tractors all over the north and south of Ireland as well as working as a lorry driver. There was nobody more experienced when it came to working around machinery."
The family faced an anxious wait to get Paddy-Joe back home to Northern Ireland for his funeral and turned to The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust for help.
The charity aims to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the body of those who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances back to Ireland.
Jolene says the support they received from the charity was unbelievable and eased the burden while they were still coming to terms with what had happened.
"Given the circumstances surrounding daddy's death, we had to ask the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust for help to get him home," she explained.
"They are an unbelievable charity and we are indebted to them. They took the financial pressure off us and dealt with all the paperwork as we were still in shock over what had happened."
As a thank you and to raise funds for the charity, Jolene is now planning to do an eight mile walk at this year's Belfast City Marathon on Sunday, April 30 to raise funds for The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust in memory of Paddy-Joe.
"I will be joined on the walk by some of daddy’s grandchildren, nieces and his sister-in-law. Any donation at all is greatly appreciated for a charity that has not just helped us but many other families as well through some of the hardest times of their lives.
"I launched a GoFundMe page a few days ago and it has already raised over £1,300 so I'm very grateful for all the generous contributions already to this cause that means so much to me."
If you would like to donate to Jolene’s fundraiser in memory of Paddy-Joe, you can do so here.
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