Funeral on Friday after sudden death of Londonderry bandsman

Eddie McCarter, 39, died suddenly after he collapsed on January 1. He will be laid out in the uniform of the Caw Flute Band he helped set up back in 2011 for a funeral service at his home at 12.30pm on Friday, January 6. He will be laid to rest at Ballyoan Cemetery in the Waterside area of Londonderry after the funeral service.

In a death notice, Mr McCarter was described as the “beloved husband of Gwen and loving father of Christopher, dear son of Billy and the late Fay, beloved brother of Gaynor.”

Allister Gault from Caw Flute Band, speaking earlier this week, said Mr McCarter was a very well-known and much-loved member of the band.

Mr Gault said: “It is a very sad time for everyone in the band and for his family in particular and we would like to offer our support.

“It was very unexpected. He did not seem in any way ill at all.

“Caw Flute Band was only started in 2011 and he was one of the four or five founding members of it. He was in Nelson Drive Flute Band from when he was very young. He was very well known both within the local community and across the country.

“I have been getting messages of condolence from different bands all over the country. Nobody had a bad word about him.

“Our band is like a second family to a lot of members and it was like that for Eddie. He has family members in the band.

“The whole band will mis him, the whole estate will miss him and the wider community as well.”