WHEN Dooradoyle father of three James O’Connor set out to celebrate his 40th birthday by climbing Kilimanjaro, it was supposed to be a triumph.
Instead tragedy struck on December 5, James’ birthday, as he was just 100 meters away from the summit when he became ill and suffered a fatal heart attack.
Mr O’Connor was living in Huntsfield in Dooradoyle and worked as chef in Cork.
While battling their own shock and grief, his family have to work out how to get James home and a GoFundMe fundraising campaign has been set up to help.
The campaign page read that “when James set out on what he considered was going to be one of his biggest achievements, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, never did we think it was going to be his last trip. We are trying our best to bring James home as fast as possible to his loving family and friends.”
“He is a wonderful husband, super father, amazing son, fantastic brother, loving uncle, friend, and hero to many. He exuded positivity and anyone who ever had the pleasure of meeting him would know they would never again meet another like James.
“We never thought we would find ourselves writing something like this and seeking the much-needed help from our friends and community, but we need to bring James home to his loving family”.
A spokeswoman for the organisers of the fund told the Limerick Post said that the Kevin Bell Trust, a charity which helps repatriate people who have died abroad, “is heavily involved in the repatriation process and the intention now is for the family to repay their gratitude back to Kevin Bell to help another family in need for any expenses Kevin bell covers for the O’Connor family”.
Speaking in an interview with Live 95 radio, calling for support of the GoFundMe campaign, Councillor Daniel Butler said: “It’s a real tragedy for the family. He has a young family and is very active in the Dooradoyle community, where he volunteers as a coach for Regional United where his son plays. There is widespread shock in the community with the news that such a young man has passed away in such tragic circumstances.”
“It can take up to 10 days (to bring him home) and I’m sure the family are anxious to get James home before Christmas. I’m appealing to Limerick people to support the family in whatever way they can. It will make a world of difference for the family to get him home as soon as possible and will help with the grieving process”.
Donations can be made on the ‘Help us bring James home’ GoFundMe page (GoFundMe.com/f/72znc2-help-us-bring-james-home).
