Grandmother who died after road collision was ‘Good Samaritan’

A MUCH-LOVED grandmother who died after a road traffic collision in Dungannon earlier this month was a ‘Good Samaritan’, mourners at her funeral have been told.

Nora O’Hagan (nee Reid), late of Adair Avenue, died in hospital on Wednesday, October 23, after a two-vehicle collision on the Woodlough Road a week before. She was 68-years-old.

Mourners gathered in Holy Trinity Church, Cookstown last Tuesday for her Requiem Mass.

The Mass was celebrated by Cookstown parish priest Fr Lawrence Boyle, who praised Mrs O’Hagan as a “Good Samaritan”.

“It has been a long and difficult 13 days to arrive here with the remains of Nora,” he said.

“Over those first few days, it was nothing but prayer to bless and to heal her.

“Then death knocked at the door. “When death knocks, we feel like we have been cheated by God, but with death comes healing.

“It is a difficult and unwanted healing, but Nora has got her healing.

“Over the last five days, her family hung a white wreath on their door – a symbol of beauty and a symbol of welcome.”

Fr Boyle further described Mrs O’Hagan as a woman with a “beautiful outreach”.

“She had a beautiful outreach, an outreach to anybody who needed help – a listening ear or a kind word.

“She was the kind of person who would say, ‘If there is anything you need, you can come to me’.”

The priest summed Mrs O’Hagan up as a carer, a nurse, a mother, a grandmother, a lover, and a giver.

“If Nora leaves behind anything, it’s that gift and legacy,” he said.

Concluding, he added, “May this farewell today express your love for Nora and heal your sadness.”

Further prayers were offered for Mrs O’Hagan’s daughter, Sinead, who is currently recovering after the tragic road traffic collision.

It was also noted that Saturday, October 26 would have been Mrs O’Hagan’s 50th wedding anniversary.

As the service came to an end, Mrs O’Hagan’s granddaughter, Sheree McGee, gave a eulogy in which she recited a poem about her late grandmother, describing her presence as ‘a gift from above’.

Sheree is the partner of well-known Tyrone boxer, Conrad Cummings. After Mrs O’Hagan’s death, the boxer shared a photograph and tribute on social media in which he praised her as a ‘special lady’ who was ‘one-of-a-kind’. Mr Cummings post read, “So, so many fond memories and laughs shared over the last five-six years, a gem (the best) to all of my girls.

“You will be sorely missed.”

A family notice remember Mrs O’Hagan as a ‘loving wife’, ‘devoted mother’ and ‘precious grandmother’.