‘Stuart’s enthusiasm for life knew no bounds’

UNDER leaden skies, Stuart Mangan, the 26-year-old rugby player from Fermoy, Co Cork, who died last week, made his final journey home yesterday to be laid to rest at Kilcrumper cemetery, one of the oldest Christian burial places in Ireland.

In the company of his parents, Una and Brian, his brothers, Keith, Barry and John, and a large extended family, hundreds gathered at St Patrick’s parish church in Fermoy to celebrate an extraordinary life as well as mourn the passing of one of the most inspirational figures of his generation.

The large congregation included not only a host of young friends but also representatives of the financial and sports worlds — among them rugby greats Mike Gibson, Keith Woods, Mick Galway as well as members of the Munster rugby team.