THE family of a Co Armagh man have spoken of their "complete devastation" after his sudden death in northern France.
Emmett McNally, who was 45 and originally from Clonmore, suffered a brain aneurysm and was found on Friday at his home in Chantilly.
A married father-of-two, he had just been embarking on plans to expand his successful recycling plant business when he died.
His family, including his mother Deirdre and brother Ciaran, flew to France at the weekend after receiving the tragic news and are being assisted by the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust with plans to bring Emmett's remains home.
A former player for Clonmore Robert Emmets GFC, the club held a minute's silence in his memory before a game on Monday.
Having spent time in Lille during a degree in industrial management with French at Queen's University, Mr McNally moved to the country in 1995 as part of his work with Terex, a manufacturer of lifting and material processing products.
His two children are Emma (12) and Shaun (10).
In recent times, he had set up his own business and was moving towards expanding into new markets. He had been due to travel to Madagascar this week.
Speaking to the Irish News, Deirdre McNally said the sudden loss of her son was "just completely devastating".
"My faith would help me to see this is part of God's bigger plan for all of us. It is just a terrible loss to all of us," she said.
She described her son, who enjoyed cross-country running, as someone of "great compassion".
"He was very clever, very intelligent. He was very determined in everything that he did," she said.
"He was positive and always saw the funny side of situations. He really had the most wicked sense of humour.
"He was also really generous. He was very kind to people. Where he saw a need, he would have been there showing kindness, helping, and would have had great compassion for people."
She said the 45-year-old "loved to get back home to Ireland" and made a trip every year to Croke Park for the All-Ireland football final.
His uncle Sean was a former Tyrone county player.
"He loved to bring the family and the children home to Ireland," Mrs McNally said.
"Emmett loved the GAA. He would have supported all the teams but he just loved Tyrone."
Ciaran McNally also told how his brother's sudden death had been "a bolt out of the blue".
"He was just so talented in so many ways," he said.
The family described the support of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust as "just amazing".
Gerry Cunningham, chairman of Clonmore GFC, said Mr McNally was a “lovely fella”.
“He enjoyed the game very much, very pleasant and co-operative on the field of play,” he said.
“We would send our deepest sympathies to the McNally family at this time of difficulty”.
