Funeral tomorrow for tragic GAA player

Pearce Branagan, a 23-year-old hurler with Clonduff GAC and teacher at St Malachy’s Primary School in Kilcoo, died from what his club described as a “cardiac seizure” on Saturday evening.

A fundraising page set up in his memory has raised well over £2,000 for the Northern Ireland Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

Mr Branagan’s girlfriend, Ellen McCrilly, said he had refused to allow the heart defect he was born with to “define” him.

“Pearce was born with a heart defect but he didn’t want that to define who he was as a person,” she wrote in a post on social media website Facebook.

“From running the Belfast City Marathon to playing for his beloved Clonduff, he was determined to not let it control his life.

“I’m so grateful that I got to spend four amazing years with Pearce, for all the things we did together and trips we went on.

“He was my soul mate and best friend all in one.”

In a family notice, Pearce Branagan is described as the “dearly loved son of Tony and Terri and brother of Pádraig, Lorcán, Cáithlin and boyfriend of Ellen.”

His funeral will take place tomorrow, Thursday, June 28 at 2pm in St.John’s Church, Ballymaghery Hilltown with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.