LISTEN: Daughter's agony of being kept away from dad as he died of COVID-19

By Rodney Edwards

The daughter of a Co Fermanagh pensioner who died of Covid19 has described the agony of not being able to be by her father's deathbed.   

Lawrence McManus, known as Larry, was buried in Enniskillen yesterday with a few close relatives near his graveside.

They kept their distance as the 93-year-old's body was taken from South West Acute Hospital to Cross Cemetery by undertakers dressed in white hazmat suits.

The parish priest performed a blessing from 30 feet away. 

Valerie Trotter recalled the last time she talked to her dad in hospital - before restrictions were introduced - and says she'll cherish that conversation forever. 

The sun shone on the Council-run graveyard as 10 members of the pensioner’s family formed a guard of honour when the hearse arrived through the old iron gates before it came to a stop overlooking the hospital where he took his last breath earlier this week. 

Undertakers John McKeegan and Brendan Hynes, still dressed in their protective suits, wheeled the remains along a narrow path to the family plot. 

Grieving relatives, some wearing masks, wiped tears from their eyes as they saw for the first time the sealed wooden coffin which was lowered into the freshly dug plot.

The grave diggers, also dressed in hazmat suits, stepped aside to allow Father Raymond Donnelly to perform a blessing from about 30 feet away. 

Mr McManus’ family were not allowed to hold their father’s hand as he was dying nor could they comfort one another yesterday morning as they stood with bowed heads.

They edged forward ever so slightly to catch one last glimpse of the deceased's coffin after being cruelly robbed of the ritual of mourning. 

“I feel empty; I just wish it was something else that took him and not this terrible virus,” his daughter Valerie told The Impartial Reporter.

“We understand why we can’t have a proper funeral service but it’s just so difficult for the family."

Valerie explained that she and her two sisters Audrey Carson and Dorothy McManus had to wait 48 hours to find out if he had died from coronavirus.  

“We got the call from the hospital when the test results came back, and it has been terrible ever since. I thought to myself that he had it, it was in the back of my mind, but it’s still a shock,” she added.   

A picture of a fishing rod on the wall of the hospital room in ward six where Mr McManus lay was a fitting reminder of the oasis of calm and relaxation that he sought from fishing on Lough Erne.  

It is in this room where Valerie last saw her father several weeks ago and where they talked about his love of the Fermanagh Lakelands, a memory that she says she will forever cherish. 

“It was the beginning of the coronavirus scare and the hospital allowed just one person in at a time," she said. 

"He smiled at me and we had a wee chat about the grandchildren as we always did and the picture of the fishing rod. I said, ‘my goodness, you’d think this room was made for you’. When you talked to him about fishing his face lit up.  

“He said he was very tired and I said I would let him sleep. He gave me a smile and closed his eyes. I gave him a kiss on the head and that’s the last time I saw him.” 

His family are taking comfort in their belief that Larry is now at peace after being reunited with his wife Dorothy.   

“He was a wonderful father and grandfather. He was just the best and couldn’t do enough for you. He was always there at times of trouble; he was there for us, each and every one of us," Valerie said.  

“I wish I could have been there with him when he died but it wasn’t to be. He was a great age but I think the longer you have them the harder it is when you lose them."