Mourners at the funeral of Gerard McMahon, who died after being detained by police using CS spray, heard tributes to a “much loved” individual.
A service for the 36-year-old, from Belfast’s Short Strand area, was held at the nearby St Matthew’s Church yesterday, and was attended by hundreds of mourners.
It followed his death in hospital last Thursday morning, hours after a “violent incident” in Belfast’s Great Victoria Street, in which he was detained by PSNI officers.
A cortege wound its way through the Short Strand enclave, with Mr McMahon’s coffin draped with a banner bearing the logo of famous Ibiza nightclub Space – a tribute to his love of dance music, and his time spent performing on the local club scene in previous years as ‘DJ Mako’.
Mr McMahon, who was still affectionately known as Mako to friends, performed at the former Space nightclub in Belfast’s Talbot Street, and until recently span records at the club’s reunion events in city venues
A floral tribute spelling his DJ moniker adorned the hearse, along with others spelling ‘uncle’ and ‘bro’.
At the church, Father Aiden McKee spoke of a “much-loved son and uncle”, and described how Mr McMahon’s love of music made him a familiar face to many.
“His death came as a great shock,” Fr McKee said, referring to the events of last Thursday.
“It serves as a reminder of how quickly life can be taken away.”
He continued: “Gerard had a great love of music, and he made many friends through being a DJ. He was also a mechanic, and was great with his hands. Gerard was a great person to know if you needed your car fixed.”
Following the service, his coffin was taken to Roselawn Cemetery for burial.
Meanwhile, the Police Ombudsman’s office has issued a fresh appeal for witnesses who may have seen Mr McMahon during the final few hours of his life.
The Ombudsman is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, and revealed details of his movements in the early hours of September 8.
A statement from the Ombudsman on locations where Mr McMahon was seen said: “They include Patterson's Place, off Donegall Square East, where he left a nearby nightclub shortly after 2am. At that stage he was wearing a turquoise colour Firetrap T-shirt, black jeans with a yellow belt, and black trainers.
“He then moved to the Howard Street area, behind the City Hall, and was there between approximately 2.30am and 3am, by which stage he was partially undressed.”
Mr McMahon was at a location in Friendly Street in the Markets area until 4.40am, before making his way to Great Victoria Street.
