A POPULAR priest has been remembered fondly as a man who brought "a ripple of smiles" everywhere he went.
Fr Brian O'Donnell (86), from Derry's waterside, died on Tuesday at a care home in Magherafelt.
He was laid to rest yesterday.
Ordained in 1958, he served in several parishes in Derry and Tyrone.
He was parish priest of Lavey from 1989 until he retired in 2010.
Fr O'Donnell was also a president of Erin's Own Lavey GAA Club.
Posting on Facebook, the club described him as its "greatest supporter".
"It's a sadness that quickly turns to fond remembrance for anyone that knew or encountered Fr O'Donnell during a magical time in our history. That reaction is perhaps the measure of the man and how he will be remembered and appreciated.
"He brought a ripple of smiles and warm greetings to every arena that he entered, from Gulladuff to Celtic Park to Armagh to Croke Park. A pied piper for Laveyites. The scarf. The hat. The bears. They were magical times with a man who was the epitome of what a parish is about; the pastoral care of its people."
Mourners at St Mary's Church in Lavey heard Fr Patrick Doherty describe Fr O'Donnell as someone who was effortlessly intelligent.
"Lavey became his home and he was content and happy and happy in his priesthood," Fr Doherty said.
"He could engage in any topic. He devoured books. He couldn't understand why more people couldn't get into the world of reading."
