THE family of an Irishman — who found out about his death on Facebook — are desperately trying to raise money to bring him home.
Brian Devine, 46, passed away on October 5 in Sheffield. Unbeknown to his family, his body lay in the coroner’s office for two and a half months before being buried in the area at his partner’s request.
His sister Deirdre explains the unusual situation.
“I was looking at Facebook and a picture of my brother came up and people I didn’t know were saying things like ‘I remember when he used to do this or that’ and I thought — is my brother dead?”
Speaking to The Irish Post, a representative from the coroner’s office in Sheffield revealed that Mr Devine had died from misadventure.
A combination of back pain medication and prescription medicines were found in the tragic Coolock native’s system.
It has since emerged that his current grave in Sheffield has not been paid for — as was previously thought by the family.
The result is a £2,000 fee for the grave — coupled with a €2,300 bill for a new grave in Dublin.
Deirdre is desperately looking for a way to bring his coffin home to his elderly parents.
Both Brian and Deirdre have been in Britain for more than 25 years. They moved over together in the late 1980s, initially settling in London.
Brian worked in bars and as a travel agent, and Deirdre in healthcare.
While Deirdre set up a life in London, Brian decided to explore Britain further. He first travelled to Manchester and eventually to Sheffield, where he settled 13 years ago with his partner.
“Brian would come down to see a show in the West End and I would have went up to Sheffield too,” Deirdre remembers fondly. “We would have spoken on the phone too — we always kept in contact.”
Despite the closeness between the siblings, it was not unusual for her not to hear from him for weeks, even months on end.
Brian’s bipolar condition meant that when he was in a low period he would retreat into himself and not contact family.
It came as a shock when she saw the Facebook post about her brother.
“I remember trying to get hold of him on his mobile but the phone wasn’t taking calls,” she said. “I didn’t think anything of it because this wouldn’t be unusual.”
Deirdre was in “absolute shock” when she saw the devastating Facebook post which led her to discover her brother had passed away.
“I asked a colleague to run a search on his name to see if anything came up and that was when I found out it was true,” Deirdre recalls.
The next day Deirdre’s sister flew over to London and the grieving pair made their way to Sheffield to visit the place where their brother had been interred.
Though this experience was emotional in itself, the sisters found out that the grave had not been paid for, as they previously thought.
As the Devine family come to terms with what has happened, they must now pay for the grave in Sheffield and for a new plot in his native Coolock, close to his parents’ home.
“My mother is asking me ‘are you bringing him home to me?’, we are just so desperate now,” said an emotional Deirdre.
Brian and Deirdre’s parents are now in their late 70s and their father is suffering from leukaemia.
They were crushed to hear about Brian’s death in the last month and more than anything, just want their son home to bury him properly.
“I’ve done everything,” Deirdre said. “I’ve asked for extra shifts at work, we’re all trying our best, but we need help.
“We’re really just at the mercy of people’s generosity now, I just want to bring Brian home to our parents,” she pleaded.
To support the Devine family appeal, email Deirdre [email protected]
Donations can also be made to the following Santander account. AC NO. 74368694
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