Northern Ireland

Mother of Cookstown crush victim Morgan Barnard to do charity skydive to mark his 18th birthday

Connor Currie (16), Lauren Bullock (17) and Morgan Barnard (17) died outside the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown on St Patrick's night last year
Connor Currie (16), Lauren Bullock (17) and Morgan Barnard (17) died outside the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown on St Patrick's night last year Connor Currie (16), Lauren Bullock (17) and Morgan Barnard (17) died outside the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown on St Patrick's night last year

THE mother of a teenager who died in the Greenvale Hotel crush tragedy is set to do a charity skydive to mark what would have been his 18th birthday.

Morgan Barnard (17), Lauren Bullock (17) and 16-year-old Connor Currie died as they queued to get into a disco at the Cookstown hotel on St Patrick’s night last year.

Morgan’s mother Maria has decided to mark his 18th birthday on February 8 by doing a skydive with close family members.

The grieving mother hopes to raise cash for the Niamh Louise Foundation, a suicide awareness and prevention charity, and Gaelscoil Aodha Rua in Dungannon.

Morgan’s father James Bradley spoke of the family’s desire to mark the landmark birthday.

“My son should be here,” he said.

“Maria and I have been thinking of how we would mark Morgan’s 18th and we’ve been thinking about how the younger ones too, of course.

“So rather than sitting around the kitchen table and being hit by the fact that he’s not here, Maria has decided to do something that Morgan might have been interested in doing himself when he turned 18.”

Mr Bradley said the two charities have been chosen carefully.

“The amount of people who have come across the door of the Niamh Louise Foundation and spoken about Morgan is unreal, the charity has told us,” he said.

Gaelscoil Aodha Rua in Dungannon was picked because of Morgan's passion and flair for the Irish language.

“Morgan spoke Irish in the house all the time,” Mr Bradley said.

“He was passionate about it.

“He even had his application form for the Gaeltacht filled out for last summer, but obviously that wasn’t meant to be.”

Donations can be made at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/charity-eagle-morgans-legal.

Sponsor sheets are also available at various businesses throughout Dungannon.