Taylor Hill from Banbridge was proven to have a strong heart as it saved someone in emergency surgery, says brother
The brother of a 21-year-old Banbridge man who died at the weekend said he was proven to have a strong heart as “it went on to save someone’s life during emergency surgery”.
Cathal Hill was speaking at the funeral for his brother, Taylor, at St. Thérèse's Church in Banbridge on Wednesday.
Taylor, an accomplished GAA player and an estimator at Alternative Heating in Banbridge, died in Craigavon Area Hospital on Saturday morning.
He was the son of Anna and Rory, brother of Cathal, Conál and Ollie and grandson of Kenny and Patricia McGrath and George and Geraldine Hill.
Cathal told mourners that while sitting in hospital at the weekend, he had raised the possibility of donating Taylor's organs.
"We were told that Taylor was too unstable and they wouldn't be able to donate them, but by some miracle, he's stayed strong and stabilised later that day," he said.
This meant that Taylor was able to give multiple families hope.
"We always believed Taylor had a strong heart, and that was proven true when it went on to save someone’s life during emergency surgery.
"My mom, my dad, myself, one and all couldn't be more proud of Taylor. But we just regret that we couldn't get him through his recent troubles and back to his normal self."
Only last week Taylor played for the senior team at Clann na Banna CLG GAA club to help keep them in division two, ”making the events for this week even harder to understand and process,” he added.
Canon Liam Stevenson told mourners there was "disbelief" on Saturday morning, when news of Taylor's untimely death circulated.
The death of someone only 21 years old "is truly shocking and upsetting for the family and the wider community here at this time", he said.
Hundreds of people attended the wake, and there were "many more hundreds" of mourners at the funeral mass, he added.
Taylor was a good student at St Mary's Primary in Banbridge and St. Coleman's College in Newry and studied finance at Ulster University.
He excelled at Gaelic football and cross-country running, having won a 5k fun run in 14 minutes and 58 seconds.
He also played football with Banbridge Football Club from the age of seven until under-14 level.
The young man played through every level at Clann na Banna CLG, with his number five jersey being carried at the funeral, he said.
He was also a member of Banbridge Swimming Club, coached by his grandmother, Geraldine.
Taylor's father Rory thanked everyone for coming to the funeral and for "showing the support and the prayers in this tough time”.
He added: "It goes to show how special Banbridge is as a town and a community."
He was "super, super proud" of his wife Anna and their sons in how strong they are, he said.
"Please don't overly worry. We are very strong and we'll find a way to get through all this."
He went on to name all the teachers, coaches and employers who had helped Taylor along the way in his 21 years.
The final part of the service, saw a woman read a poem, "Taylor, gone too soon".
Afterwards, as people filed out of the building, Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" was piped throughout the church.