Community Left Reeling As Father & Son Killed On Moped Trip In Turkey

The community of Portlaoise has been left reeling from a second motorbike tragedy, resulting in the deaths of a father and son who were holidaying in Turkey.

36 year old Eoin Fitzpatrick and his son Dylan (10), were killed after their moped collided with a bus in Alanya, Monday afternoon. It is understood that Dylan's older brother was also on this family holiday, however, he was not involved in the crash.

This accident happened just hours before the family were due to travel back to Ireland.

"horrific"

Speaking in a fresh interview, Portlaoise GAA chairman Eamon Fennelly paid tribute to Mr Fitzpatrick, stating that he was a very talented underage hurler, while his parents were also very much involved in the local GAA club for years, with his mother having worked on the Mná na gClub committee, while his father had attended every match. 

He also revealed that Eoin Fitzpatrick progressed through the ranks to adult hurling, as well as playing soccer for Portlaoise AFC. 

“It’s a huge shock for everyone in the club,” he said. “A lot of us were closely connected with Eoin when he was playing. He was a very good player", Mr Fennelly said. 

“Eoin was a very talented under-age hurler. I remember being at an under-16s hurling final and he must have scored seven, eight, nine points. He was a ciotóg and he was a free taker, and he was the main man from a scoring point of view on his under-age teams.”

He also revealed that this is the second tragedy endured by the community this year, after 15 year old David Brown was killed in a quad bike accident in Laois over Easter.

“This is the second tragedy that’s after hitting us now in a number of months", Mr Fennelly said. “Young David Brown was killed and that was horrific. He was a really talented lad. So, this is the second tragedy that’s after hitting the club and this is a big shock as well because this is a family that is immersed in the club". 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the extended family and we’ll be there to support them in any possible way that we can, he added.