A book of condolence has opened at Clare County Council in memory of the Lahinch man who died in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
39-year-old Micheál, Mick Ryan was among 157 passengers and crew on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed shortly after takeoff yesterday.
His mother has remembered him as a family man, who loved Co. Clare, and wanted to save the world.
39-year-old Lahinchman Mick Ryan, speaking last year in Bangladesh, at a project that he was working on to help hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees.
Passionate about his work, he’s being remembered today as a man who wanted to improve the world.
Until recently, Mick had been living in Cork with his wife Naoise and their two young children, and he recently relocated to Rome to continue his work with the UN World Food Programme.
His family were due to travel there next week, following his trip to Africa, to celebrate Mick’s fortieth birthday and the Christening of his son.
But yesterday, tragedy struck when the Ethiopian Airlines plane he was travelling on, crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing him and the 156 others on board.
Mick is one of four children of retired schoolteacher Christina and the late Jack.
She’s told Clare Fm that her son was someone who just wanted to save the world, and she insists that he will be sadly missed.
The President of Ireland and the Taoiseach have been leading tributes to the North Clare man and have expressed their deepest sympathies to his family, colleagues and friends.
Ennistymon Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway says that the work he was doing was hugely important.
News of Micheal’s death has been met with great sorrow by those who knew him.
Lahinch Postmaster Shane Talty, knew him well and says the community’s devastated.
A book of condolance has opened at Áras Contae an Chlár this lunchtime in memory of Mick, while a second book has been opened at the council offices in Ennistymon.
Micheal is survived by his wife Naoise, his son and daughter and his extended family.
May he rest in peace.
Meanwhile, the black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed yesterday have been recovered.
Indonesia and China have now grounded all Boeing 737 Max planes, the model involved in the crash.
It’s the second fatal accident that the model has been involved in, following on from a Lion Air crash lost October in which 189 people died.
