Irish in London pay their respects to Kerryman who died without any friends or family

Irish in London paid their respects of a Kerry man who died without any known relatives.

John Lynch was believed to have been from Ballylongford and left for the UK with his family as a child.

He was resigning in a west London nursing home when he passed away of kidney failure last month.

Despite efforts by the Irish community in London, no living relatives were found.

Dermot O’Grady, a well-known member of the Irish in London community, decided to make an appeal on Radio Kerry’s TalkAbout programme asking people living in the area to attend John’s funeral mass.

According to Radio Kerry, at least 85 people attended to pay their respects.

Dermot O’Grady, from the Kerry Association in London, said the service reflected John Lynch’s pride in his Kerry roots, as it was said to have worn his Kerry jersey proudly on occasion.

The coffin was draped with the Kerry flag and there were a number of people there from the county who were wearing the Kerry jersey

Adding: “There wasn’t a part of the county between one person or another from various areas that didn’t turn up”

He went on to say that the priest was surprised at the turnout and referenced the turnout during the funeral mass.

“He was only expecting four or five people to attend but there was close to 85”