A FORMER special school head teacher who suffered from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) has been described as "an inspiration" following his death this week.
Colm Davis worked at Tor Bank special School in east Belfast before being forced into retirement in 2017 after being diagnosed with the debilitating condition a year earlier.
The 62-year-old, who was a life-long Leeds United fan, received an OBE for services to special education in 2017.
The father-of-three regularly travelled to Elland Road to watch his beloved Leeds and on Tuesday night enjoyed the Yorkshire club's victory over Newcastle United.
The north Belfast man died peacefully at home just hours later on Wednesday morning.
His son Colm said:
"Being from Belfast my dad was a gold membership holder at Leeds united and we got to as many games as we could," he said.
"He used to tell me stories of the glory days and his favourite ever player, the great Billy Bremner.
"There was nothing that made my dad happier than watching Leeds United.
"He was lucky to see us beat Newcastle on Tuesday night as he smiled from ear to ear.
"He was an amazing man."
Mr Davis said his father was "an inspiration" to many who suffer from MND.
"Unfortunately his fight is now over," he said.
"We will always march on together dad," he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Mr Davis is survived by his wife Victoria and children Victoria, Colm and Amy.
