COMING HOME

Last Wednesday news that 29-year-old Gerard Bradley, from Ringsend, had been killed on a Perth building side alongside Joe McDermott from Omagh, left the Coleraine area in deep mourning.

Speaking to The Coleraine Times on Monday, Gerard’s brother Jon-Paul paid tribute to his younger brother, and revealed that the family were hoping his body would be repatriated later this week.

“At the minute we are not sure when Gerard’s body will be home. It is looking like Wednesday or Thursday,” he said.

“As a family we just want to thank everyone for the support that has been shown to us.

“We’ve had calls from people who knew Gerard from across the world.

“People have been calling to pay their respects to him, it just shows how well liked he was.”

A former pupil of St Malachy’s Primary School and St Joseph’s College, Coleraine, Gerard had been Down Under since last February with his girlfriend Shelley, who is from the Lake District.

“He just loved Australia,” told Jon-Paul. “This was his second time out. He went out to visit relatives the first time, and he loved it so much that he applied to go back to work. He really was loving it out there.

“He was a very talented guy, he was good at everything he touched, but we just knew him as a barman and a golfer.”