THE FAMILY of an Irishman who died tragically last month has appealed for help to find his banjo so he can be laid to rest with it.
Gifted musician William Corrigan, 38, died after being hit by a car on February 28 in Bedford while he was walking to the shops.
Carl Robinson, 38, of Bedford has been charged with five offences in relation to the incident, including causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.
William, a father-of-three originally from Birr in Co. Offaly, always wanted to be buried with his banjo.
William playing the banjo his family want to track downHis family now wants to track down his beloved instrument before he is laid to rest on April 5 and are willing to buy it back from whoever has it.
Describing it as William’s ‘pride and joy’, his sister Ethel Lawson told The Irish Post: “If we could get it back and it could be buried with him, that would just be amazing.
“I don’t even have any words to describe what it would be like.”
The distinctive banjo (pictured above) has green, white and gold around the rim.
It was customised by William’s father, who sprayed it and put on a new skin.
William, who performed around Britain, Ireland and abroad, took the difficult decision to sell the instrument a few years ago due to personal circumstances.
Ethel believes the banjo was sold around five to seven years ago, in a shop in Luton.
Unfortunately when William went to buy it back, it had already been sold on.
William will be laid to rest on April 5William’s wife wants to keep his current banjo, so his family is hoping they can track down the one he had to sell.
“It really was his pride and joy,” said Ethel.
“He tried himself over the years to see if he could find out who bought it, but he never had any luck getting it back.”
William will be laid to rest at the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Luton on April 5.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the banjo can contact Ethel by email on [email protected] or The Irish Post on [email protected]
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