An 18-year-old Galway man has died tragically in a road traffic accident in Canada leaving a Galway community in shock at his sudden loss.
Dylan Mullins was killed in a collision on 25 July with his parents Jacqui and Marc hoping to lay Dylan to rest on Irish soil and launching a GoFundMe to repatriate his body which quickly sailed past its goal.
The community in south Galway mourned the loss of the young man who was praised for "his kindness, his compassion, and his friendship" - reports GalwayBeo.
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Dylan was a talented hurler and represented his local club Ardrahan GAA with distinction at underage level until he moved to Canada with his family.
The club addressed his loved ones in a statement to social media: "To Dylans' parents, Jacqui and Mark, his brothers Joshua and Zach, his sisters Caoimhe and Saoirse and his extended family and friends, we offer our heartfelt sympathies to all of you on the devastating loss of Dylan.
"Dylan was a larger than life young man and was a wonderful hurler with our club from age of 5 up to U14s when the family moved to Canada. He played in our successful U14 Féile na nGael team in 2017."
Dylan's family asked the public to help pay for the huge cost of repatriating their beloved son to Ireland, setting a goal of $50,000 CAD, around €38,000.
This goal was reached in around one day as the family say told backers on GoFundMe they were "overwhelmed" by the support shown.
Dylan's parents left a poignant message telling of the last time they say Dylan: "At 6.30pm on Monday evening Dylan said ‘love you Mam, I won’t be late’’ as he walked out of our home. He was in a great mood, his usual happy and joking self, he was full of life.
"And that was the last time we saw him."
They ended the message urging parents to "hug your children tightly tonight in memory of our beautiful son".
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