As the world mourns a pope, Dublin quietly says goodbye to someone Francis might have loved

The burial of Piotr Torng in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, this week. Piotr was a fan of Pope Francis. Photo: Gareth Chaney

The notice in RIP.ie gave Piotr Torng’s address as Dublin 8. Not any specific address in the postcode, just the general area, wherever in the environs of Thomas Street he tended to sleep.

He had lived a hard life. Who knows at what point in his journey the dream of life flowering into something more died. He was probably still chasing it when he left his homeland and arrived in Dublin sometime in the last 20 years.