Heartbroken son's moving tribute to motorcycle road victim Benny McIlhatton

The 44-year-old motorcyclist and father of two died following a collision with a VW Jetta car on the Magheramore Road near Ballycastle on Saturday.

Mr McIlhatton was from Loughguile.

In an emotive message on social media on Sunday, son Caolan McIlhatton said: "Lost for words, heartbroken doesn’t describe the pain. My daddy my best friend, the man me and Brandon looked up to.

"I love you more than you’ll ever know daddy watch over us and until we meet again fly high mate."

Friends responded to Caolan’s message with tributes of their own, with many describing his dad as a “gentleman” and “one in a million” who will be badly missed by all.

One said: “Terrible news, a great man he was Caolan. Thinking of you all.”

Another said: “Very sad news lad, he was a gentleman. Sorry for your loss.”

Among many other responses, one friend said: “Sorry for your loss Caolan. One in a million he was. Thinking of you Brandon and your mammy.”

A notice on the Funeral Times website describes Mr McIlhatton as the “dearly loved husband of Shauna, 28, Tullyview, much loved father of Caolan and Brandon, beloved son of Sean and Mary, dear brother of Tanya, Shaun, Damian and the late Martin, Aidan and Angela, R.I.P., dear son-in-law of Sean and Diane and a dear brother-in-law and uncle.”

Inspector Cherith Adair from the PSNI’s Collision Investigation Unit said: “At approximately 5.30pm, we received a report of a collision involving a blue Suzuki motorcycle and a silver Volkswagen Jetta.

“Officers along with other emergency services attended but very sadly Mr McIlhatton, who was travelling on the motorcycle, died at the scene.

“Two other people were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries.

“The Magheramore Road, which was closed for a number of hours, has now reopened to traffic.

“A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision is ongoing and I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anything or to anyone with dash-cam or other footage that could assist police, to contact the Collision Investigation Unit at Sprucefield on 101, quoting reference number 1270 20/04/24.”

Funeral details have not yet been confirmed.