Tributes paid to brave climber Colm Ennis as ‘true gentleman’ laid to rest

Funeral ceremonies for the two Irish climbers who died last week following a fall on Mont Blanc took place at the weekend.

Friends Colm Ennis, 37, and Peter Britton, 55, were killed when they fell in the Giant’s Tooth sector of the treacherous French mountain on July 23. It is understood they died after falling around 200m when their rope broke loose.

Both men were members of the Rathgormack Climbing Club in Co Waterford.

At the Requiem Mass for Mr Ennis yesterday, mourners heard how the former De La Salle scout leader received a Gold Merit medal for bravery after saving the life of his brother Aidan, also a scout leader and climber, in the Dolomites in Italy approximately three years ago.

At the packed St Paul’s church in Lisduggan, near to the Ennis family home in Lismore Park, Aidan Ennis delivered a poignant message about his brother’s courage and humanity.

He said: “You taught me so much. A very intelligent and kind person — a true gentleman.”

He explained how he would never be able to thank his brother enough for saving his life in the accident, which rendered him unconscious and hypothermic.

Mr Ennis broke his back and shattered his arm in the 60m fall but still managed to climb back up some distance in order to get coverage on his phone.

“I will never know what Colm went through that evening… Colm’s actions saved my life that day and for that I will be eternally grateful.”

St Paul’s Parish Priest Fr Pat Fitzgerald said Mr Ennis had been “full of dreams, schemes and projects”.

“He was made for life,” Fr Fitzgerald said, explaining how Mr Ennis lived more than most do “in two lifetimes”.

Mr Ennis was the HR manager at Amazon’s customer service operations in Cork and previously worked with C&C Group, as well as the Caulfield McCarthy supermarket group.

Prayers were also offered for Mr Britton at the church yesterday. The senior roads engineer with Tipperary County Council will be laid to rest following Requiem Mass at St Peter and St Paul’s church in Clonmel at 1pm today. His removal was attended by hundreds of mourners at the weekend.