Further tributes have been paid to cattle dealer Michael (better known as Mike) McLoughlin, who died after an accident at Loughrea Mart, Loughrea, Co. Galway on Saturday (September 23).
Mike was killed when a bullock jumped over the fence around the showring into a group of mart goers.
He was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Galway (UHG) where he was later pronounced dead.
As a mark of the respect to the McLoughlin family, the sheep sale tomorrow (Thursday, September 28) at Loughrea Mart has been cancelled, the mart confirmed on its social media pages.
Mike was from Curraghboy on the Co. Roscommon side of Athlone, where he was a neighbour and good friend of the Kelly family.
James Kelly is the director of organisation for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA). He knew Mike threw the latter’s friendship with his parents and his brother Peadar Kelly, who is a pig farmer in the area (Mike often dealt in other livestock besides cattle).
Speaking to Agriland, James Kelly paid tribute to “a mighty character”.
“Everyone always had a good word for Mike, there’s no doubt. He was a cattle dealer, farmer, and he absolutely loved the marts, one of these guys that just love the marts,” James said.
“He loved all those western marts – Roscommon, Tuam, Athenry, Loughrea, Ballinasloe. He was always buying cattle, selling cattle, looking at cattle, talking about cattle. He was one of a kind.”
According to James, Mike was highly respected as a cattle dealer.
“These guys that love cattle, that are around cattle, they have a following. He’d never be out to do anyone wrong or anything like that – what you buy is what you buy, what you sell is what you sell. He just liked being around the farmers, around the mart, and cattle were his life,” James said.
According to James’ brother Peadar, the number of people who helped to prepare Mike’s grave in recent days was “telling”.
“[Mike] was a single man. But the amount of neighbours and the community that was up making the grave… and [Peadar] said is was so sad but so jovial in terms of everyone of them sitting down, half laughing, half crying, and everyone had a unique story about Mike.
“Mike was a fair man to have a different box of tricks nearly every week, because he was on the go, he was meeting so many people. There wasn’t a bad bone in his body, in fairness to him. He’ll be thoroughly missed there in the community. It’s a close-knit community. It’s a good farming community there in south Co. Roscommon,” James said.
He added: “We all know marts are little ecosystems in themselves, and that’s what kept him going in terms of being there and meeting people, and the familiar faces that were there every week when he was at the marts.
“He was a unique character. There’s not many more of them left,” James said.
“The south Co. Roscommon community is at a big loss there now with the passing of poor Mike. It’s a big loss and people will miss him around the marts.
“And those marts will not be the same in terms of it being a big loss to the friends that he had in marts right across the west,” he added.