*Micheál Ryan’s remains return home. Photograph: Virgin Media News

There was “a sense of relief” for the Ryan family of Lahinch as they buried Micheál, seven months on from his tragic death in Ethiopia.

Micheál Ryan was on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed on 10 March in Addis Ababa. There were no survivors after the Boeing 737 crashed shortly after takeoff en route to Nairobi in Kenya, it was carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members.

A married father of two, Micheál worked as Deputy Chief Engineer with the United Nations’ World Food Programme on projects in the developing world. He died two weeks before his fortieth birthday.

His remains were recovered from Ethiopia last week with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs notifying the Ryan family at the beginning of October.

Photograph: Virgin Media News

On Sunday, his mother Christine and brother Tiarnan flew to Addis Ababa to bring the remains home to Clare. Upon landing in Dublin Airport on Tuesday from Frankfurt, they were welcomed by President Michael D Higgins’ Aide de Camp Liam Condon and Amir Abdulla, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

From there, they made the journey home where a guard of honour of students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon and Ennistymon CBS formed a guard of honour in Lahinch along with friends and neighbours of the deceased. A private burial took place in Ennistymon Cemetery.

Speaking ahead of the repatriation, Christine Ryan said of her late son, “He’s coming back as a UN hero because of all the lives he has saved”. She admitted that the trip was “emotionally draining” but offered some healing for the family. “We all have a sense of relieve that the remains have been found and that we can bring him home”.

On how she would like Micheál to be remembered, the former secondary school teacher stated, “As a very caring person who cared about humanity and was concerned for people and the betterment of situations”.

“UN Hero” Micheál Ryan

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If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

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