A CO DOWN motorbike fanatic who was a "true gentleman" was buried yesterday, four years after the death of his brother.
A large group of bikers were among those who attended the funeral of 45-year-old Gary Lennon from Aughlisnafin near Castlewellan, who was killed in a car crash last week.
Fr Denis McKinley, who was called to the scene and celebrated yesterday's requiem mass, said it was "tragic" that parents were burying two sons in the space of four years.
Mr Lennon, who was a plasterer by trade and described by friends as "true gentleman who wore his heart on sleeve", died in a single-vehicle accident after his blue BMW crashed on the Dublin road near the south Down village at 10pm last Thursday.
His brother, Francis, passed away at home in 2014 at the age of 44.
Fr McKinley said there was a "big turnout from the parish" at the funeral. He extended his condolences to his devastated family, including his sisters Sinéad and Caroline and his brother Paul.
"The family would be very well-known and there was a big congregation. It's tragic for parents that they have lost two children in a short space of time, it's not the natural order to be burying your children," he said.
"Gary was very popular and there also a big turn out from his biker pals. He loved motorbikes. These young deaths remind us that life's a bit brittle."
