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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
John Hand

Murdered Irish traveller buried in golden casket as 200 attend London funeral

A murdered Traveller was buried in a gold casket two months on from his death this week.

A lavish funeral was held for Sligo native Michael McDonagh, 53, in London with around 200 in attendance including many from his hometown in Ireland.

His large coffin was surrounded by floral tributes to the father-of-six.

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Former drug trafficker McDonagh died while on holiday following an altercation in Camber Sands, Sussex in South East England just after midnight on August 6.

Although police made seven arrests over his killing, all of the suspects were released on conditional bail.

Investigators believe that the incident was recorded in full on a phone but they have yet to locate this man.

McDonagh's funeral, which took place at the Sacred Heart & Mary Immaculate Church in Mill Hill on Wednesday, heard that the family's pain is "unimaginable" and that his wife and children have had to deal with this "burden and ordeal".

One of McDonagh's brothers spoke and said: "Michael would be very proud of them.

"Everyone of them, Michael himself, he loved his family. He adored them. He was a special man, he was unique, you'll never get anyone like him again.

"And for a young family, the world can be cruel sometimes. This wasn't the way Michael wanted to go out. Never. But that's what happens.

"He was a loving husband and father."

Standing back and turning to the casket, he added: "Michael, you're a legend on earth. You're a legend in heaven. And you'll always be our legend forever, it was a privilege to have you as my brother. It was an honour to have you as my brother."

McDonagh's daughter Stephanie thanked people for travelling from afar.

She described her father as the "strongest person" she's ever known and the "life and soul of every party."

And speaking after the service, Stephanie urged people to contact the police with information over the incident.

She said: "He was there with his family and he should have had a nice time and he should have come home. And he didn't.

"That could happen to anyone, it could happen again. If people know any information I hope they come forward so we can get justice."

McDonagh's casket was later carried into a cemetery for burial.

Although McDonagh was once a huge drug trafficker, it is not believed he was still involved in the game at the time of his death.

He left Ireland for the UK when the Criminal Assets Bureau seized his plush home near Ballintogher, Sligo after proving it was bought from the proceeds of crime in the early 2000s.

His gang was behind a massive haul of drugs which was seized by cops in the UK in 2008.

After a period on the run, the former boxer was arrested in Amsterdam,

Holland in November 2010 and extradited back to the UK on foot of an international warrant for his arrest.

McDonagh was jailed for seven years for drug trafficking while 23 others of his gang were also caged over the seizure.

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