A WELSH Conservative Party aide died on his stag do just three weeks before he was due to marry his Irish bride.
Ben Davies, 32, suffered a fall on the Greek sunshine island of Mykonos while he was on his stag party with close friends.
The deputy chief of staff for the Conservative group sitting in the Welsh Government was due to wed Emily Russ, 31, from Carrickfergus in Co. Antrim at the end of the month in Cardiff.
But the Oxford University graduate from Cardiff tragically fell suffering head injuries.
He spent a week in a coma and died on Sunday, July 2.
East Antrim MLA John Stewart, who had been invited to the wedding, described Mr Davies as a down-to-earth person who took a keen interest in Northern Ireland politics.
"He was a very, very nice guy. He had been over here and I had met him a few times," he told The Belfast Telegraph.
"He was highly articulate and intelligent - he was a political operative for the Conservative Party and I think he was also a member.
"He had a lot of questions about Northern Ireland politics and took a lot of interest. He was just a down-to-earth kind of guy, a nice guy.
"He was in a coma when he was transferred to Athens for treatment, but they were not able to revive him. I believe that when they tried to bring him out of the coma they couldn't resuscitate him."
Mr Davies' colleague and friend Vincent Bailey said: "He was incredibly bright and such a big character. He will be impossible to forget or replace. He was a good friend and it's just terribly sad."
Mr Davies had worked for the party for two years, after volunteering for the Conservatives in London.
He considered standing as a city councillor in this year's local elections in the Rumney ward of Cardiff, but it's understood he pulled out of the race to focus on general election campaigning.
Cardiff Councillor Jayne Cowan described Mr Davies' "fascinating sense of humour".
"Ben was a great figure on the campaign trail, he was very bright and very articulate,” she said. "He was so bright and he had this fascinating sense of humour.
"You remembered when you’re in his presence even if there’s 10 other people there. He was special. We are a small team and a lot of people knew him. It’s absolutely tragic."
