A CO Down GAA player killed in a dune buggy tragedy in Qatar had been due to leave the country this weekend.
Eamonn Morgan's mother Maura told how her family had been left devastated by the tragic accident which claimed the life of her 24 year-old son.
In an emotional tribute Mrs Morgan told how Eamonn and his girlfriend Charlotte Sant "were very much in love...and had so much to see" in life.
The couple died when the dune buggy they were in veered out of control off a steep incline on Saturday.
The two PE teachers were rear seat passengers in the four-seater open-sided buggy when it crashed.
Mrs Morgan last night said the family hoped to have his body returned home to Mayobridge by the end of the week, but arrangements were still being made in Qatar.
A GAA fanatic, who had played for St John Bosco GAC in Newry since he was eight years old, Mr Morgan had been teaching in Qatar for the past year.
His mother last night revealed he had been due to leave the country at the weekend.
Mr Morgan, who had also been playing football for Qatar GAA club, was expected to return home to Northern Ireland next month.
"It's just dreadful, absolutely tragic," Mrs Morgan said.
"He was very popular, very well respected. He chatted to everyone, when he came into a room you would have known it, he would have spoke to anyone.
"He was big into his sport, all sport - no matter if it wasn't his team, he knew all about it and would be able to talk about it.
"He was supposed to finish school on Wednesday, then him and Charlotte were going travelling on July 5 to Hong Kong and other places and he was due to come home on July 28."
Mrs Morgan said the couple had been together for four years after meeting at John Moore's University in Liverpool.
"They started out as best friends in college where they were there for four years, then they spent two years in America together," she said.
She added: "They were very much in love, they were going to do so much, they had so much to see."
Mrs Morgan said arrangements were still being made to bring her son's body home.
"We are hoping to have Eamonn home by the end of the week, but we don't know for sure," she said.
"We hope to have him here soon.
"His school had a health fund and are getting him home, they have been superb. Charlotte's school seem to be a bit slower.
"The support from everyone here has been unreal and the GAA in Qatar have been fantastic, they have done so much."
A Mass was held last night in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Barwa with many of those who attended wearing the Qatar club colours as a sign of our support for their friends and families back home.
Prayers were said for the couple and for the recovery of their two friends, who are being treated in hospital in Doha and understood to both be in a stable condition.
Mr Morgan is survived by his parents Kevin and Maura and brothers Kevin and Declan.
Meanwhile, the wife of a bus driver killed in Belgium has spoken of her devastation.
Father-of-five Geordie Chance from Lisburn, Co Antrim, was killed when the school coach he was a co-driver on crashed on the motorway in the Middelkerke area on Sunday morning.
His wife Lyn told UTV: "We are just devastated and in total shock.
“He said he loved me too and was sick of being away from home.
“He was a great man, I never realised how much I loved him – but I always told him.”
She said she was "grateful" he was killed rather than one of the 34 school children from Essex on the coach.
“And all our thoughts and prayers are with all those involved and we hope they all make a full recovery," she said.
