The brother of a west Belfast man who died in a road traffic collision has spoken of his shock and sadness following his tragic death.
Gerard Marshall described his brother Paul (70) as a gentleman, who “wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
“Life is so valued by all of us, but just like a candle, it can go out so quickly,” he said.
Paul passed away in the Royal Victoria Hospital last month following a collision at Millfield junction in Belfast city centre.
The incident happened close to Belfast Met campus on September 2 and Paul, who was a pedestrian, was taken to hospital. Sadly he died a week later.
A 34-year-old man has appeared in court charged in connection with the crash.
Speaking to The Irish News, Gerard spoke of his shock when he received the news that his brother had been taken to hospital.
“I was in France when I got the call to tell me what had happened, it was horrible,” he said.
“I got to see him after it happened, the level of response was limited, they were keeping him alive.
“When the decision was made to reduce the sedation, he went very quickly.
“He was much loved by us all.”
Recalling their childhood growing up, he said one of his greatest memories was how “Paul and I grew up as altar boys in Ardoyne chapel”.
“We were raised in the Ardoyne area and moved to Lenadoon and then onto Willowvale Gardens,” he said.
“We were just an ordinary family growing up, going to the dance halls and doing all the usual things.”
He said Paul attended St Mary’s where after sitting his A-levels, he attended the polytechnic at Jordanstown to study food sciences.
“He left after a year and went to work at Thompson’s flour mill, he was happy there but he had ambition and moved to Richardson’s,” said Gerard.
“In his early twenties, he worked as a lab technician at the College of Business Studies in Belfast.
“But it’s around that time that his mental health became more unmanageable. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
“Mum and Dad looked after him so well, particularly dad who dealt with a lot of it. He attended meetings with other parents endeavouring to make sense of this severe and enduring mental health problem and the most appropriate response.
“Dad did not find psychiatric services supportive.
“This lack of support by and large continued after Dad’s death in 1999.
“Paul was subject like many of his generation to anti-psychotic medication and the locked ward at Purdysburn Hospital.
“Paul resided at his supportive accommodation at Fortwilliam Park, but daily spent hours at home at Willowvale with Mum who loved him dearly.
“And it was from Willowvale where he got the Glider into Belfast on the day he was injured.
“He had the same routine, getting the Glider down and would go and buy his cigarettes at the top of Castle Street.”
Gerard said the family have been left devastated by Paul’s passing.
“We are all just still shocked by what’s happened,” he said.
“Life is so valued by all of us, but just like a candle, it can go out so quickly.”
