Lifelong Orangeman dies in fall from bridge

Tributes have been paid to a well-respected member of the Orange Order who died after falling into a canal in Co Donegal.
Ian Smith was a member of the Orange Order, Apprentice Boys and the North Fermanagh Ulster Scots AssociationIan Smith was a member of the Orange Order, Apprentice Boys and the North Fermanagh Ulster Scots Association
Ian Smith was a member of the Orange Order, Apprentice Boys and the North Fermanagh Ulster Scots Association

Co Fermanagh man Ian Smith was a member of Dromard LOL 284 and North Fermanagh Ulster Scots Association.

He was also due to hand over the reins as president on the Kesh branch of the Apprentice Boys next week.

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It is understood Mr Smith, who was in his 60s and an employee at Deane Public Works, died when he fell from a bridge he had been working on in Gweedore shortly before 3pm.

A spokesman for the Irish Health and Safety Authority confirmed he had been carrying out work to upgrade a bridge at the time of his fall.

The fall prompted a multi-agency response and Mr Smith’s body was discovered in the canal downstream a short time later.

Mr Smith had lived alone between Ederney and Kesh, having been pre-deceased by his wife.

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A spokesperson for the local organisations of which Mr Smith was a member said: “Ian was a lifetime member of Dromard LOL 284, and a very supportive and active member of the lodge.

“He was a quiet and unassuming man that didn’t look for the spotlight to be shone on him.

“Last Saturday he was involved the whole day in clearing out our hall just before the contractors moved in to start a brand new project for our Ulster-Scots group. Sadly he’s not going to see our new hall built.

“He was due to hand over the president’s office in the Kesh branch of the Apprentice Boys on Monday night coming. He had just done two years as president and was a founder member of the new club.

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“He was a great friend, a great fella, a great man. He was an extremely hard-working man who worked every day of the week. He wasn’t afraid to put his shoulder to the wheel and support anything he was interested in.

“We’re all going to miss him. We extend our sympathy to his brothers Richard and Ashley and all the family circle.”

UUP councillor Rosemary Barton said Mr Smith was a “very valued member of the community”.

Mrs Barton, who lives in the same area of Co Fermanagh as Mr Smith, said: “He was a very quiet, unassuming and hard-working man who was from a well-known family in the Kesh area.

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“He had been working with a local contractor for a long number of years.

“I was speaking with him at a function over Christmas and he was very much looking forward to the new year and the building of the new hall at Dromard near Kesh which he had a great interest in.

“My heartfelt sympathy goes to his immediate family of two brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews where he will be greatly missed.”

Deane Public Works, for whom Mr Smith had worked for 34 years, said: “It is with immense sadness that one of our staff members, Ian Smith, has tragically passed whilst working on one of our construction sites in Donegal.

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“Ian was a well-respected and highly valued member of the company.”

The firm added: “We are all extremely shocked and devastated at this tragic loss and extend our deepest sympathies to the entire family circle, friends and colleagues at this most difficult time.”