Tributes to ‘respected' trade unionist who died after assault as funeral takes place
There was a palpable sense of shock in the city following the well-known activist's death.
Gardaí in Waterford are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death of Pat Fitzgerald, following the incident at a residential property in Waterford city on Friday, August 1.
Mr Fitzgerald of St Catherine's Grange, John's Hill and Avondale, and late of Slievekeale, had been a respected glass blower at Waterford Crystal in the city, and involved in trade unionism, having negotiated on behalf of 3,500 workers as a member of Unite in 2009.
Mr Fitzgerald's remains will lie in repose at Tom Hennessy's Funeral Home in Johnstown, Waterford on Thursday from 5.30pm to 7pm.
His funeral will take place at the Sacred Heart Church, The Folly in Waterford at noon on Friday with burial following in St Mary's Cemetery, Ballygunner, Waterford.
Cllr Donal Barry paid his respects to his former colleague, describing him as highly respected among his peers. He recalled an astute and hard working man who put his colleagues first.
'I worked in part of the factory, and Pat was the full-time union convenor there in Waterford Crystal,' said Cllr Barry. At the peak of its employment the factory employed about 3,500 people forming an important part of the city's economic life.
At the time, Mr Fitzgerald was a member of the ITGWU, which later became Unite trade union. 'Pat was a very, very clever gentleman,' said Cllr Barry.
Pat Fitzgerald.
'He was a brilliant trade union official and he did an awful lot of good work for the workers in Waterford Crystal. He secured an awful lot of good terms and conditions for them. He was also a trustee of the pension fund there.'
Mr Fitzgerald's wife died some years ago. There was a palpable sense of shock in the city following the well-known activist's death.
'For any person, especially an elderly gentleman, to die in such circumstances - it left an awful lot of shock over the bank holiday weekend when the news broke first that he was seriously injured, and then he unfortunately passed away on Sunday afternoon. People were very shocked,' added Cllr Barry.
Condolences and sympathies have come in from far and wide for the trade unionist who played a key role in negotiating a fair deal for workers at Waterford Crystal.
A former colleague at British Midland ATGWU, said: 'I met Pat in 2001 when he was a convener in Waterford Crystal and I was a shop steward in British Midland.
'The WC committee had invited us to meet to discuss our strike in Dublin Airport after which they donated to our strike fund, in spite of their own ongoing struggles.
'Pat hosted us for the duration, gave great advice and was incredibly generous and supportive of our efforts. He also gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the factory where we got a glimpse of the phenomenal talent and skill of the workers there.
Pat Fitzgerald.
News in 90 Seconds - Aug 7th
'I still have the little gift I received on that visit and I still often refer to our association with our colleagues in Waterford Crystal, and specifically Pat's kindness and hospitality.
'Our involvement was brief but made a lasting impression on me. I'm so very sorry to hear he has died and offer my sincere sympathies to his family, friends and his Waterford Crystal tribe.'
Another friend wrote: 'Pat Fitzgerald, the union activist been a representative involved with the ATGWU and late Unite the Union, for a long time as one of the full-time trade union officials at Waterford Glass and late Waterford Crystal, holding the position of branch chairman and convenor has passed away.
'Over the past three decades up to the closure and the Waterford glass plant at Kilbarry and which saw the sacking by a receiver of hundreds of men and women, who had contributed greatly to the success that Waterford glass was, the late Pat Fitzgerald held the position of branch chairman of the old 11/64 branch.
'He was in that time a full time union convenor and prior would have been the blowing craft department union representative on the union branch of the ATGWU and late Unite the Union.
'I see where many tributes to him have appeared on social media and on the print media, since his death was announced publicly last evening. To his children, Wayne, Joanne and Karl, his mother, his grandchildren and family extended sincere sympathy. Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam dilis.'
Friends of the family wrote: 'Our deepest sympathy to the extended Fitzgerald family on the passing of Pat. He was a person of principle, honour and integrity who was deeply committed to the trade union movement and represented the workforce of Waterford Crystal with distinction and he leaves behind a legacy that will endure forever. May Pat now rest in peace.'
On Friday gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of the incident at a residential property in St Catherine's Grange shortly after 2pm.
Mr Fitzgerald, aged in his 70s, was discovered at the scene with injuries and in an unresponsive condition. He was transported to University Hospital Waterford for treatment and was pronounced dead on Sunday, August 3.
A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene during the incident and subsequently detained at a garda station within the Waterford-Kilkenny Division under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He was later charged in relation to the investigation and appeared before Waterford District Court on Sunday, August 3.
The local coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist were notified and a post mortem was carried out. A technical and forensic examination at the scene has been completed.
A senior investigating officer (SIO) is leading the investigation and a family liaison officer (FLO) is providing support to the deceased's family. An incident room has been established at Waterford Garda Station.
Investigating gardaí are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to contact Waterford Garda Station 051 305 300 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
Investigations are ongoing and further updates will follow, added a Garda spokesperson.
The widower was predeceased by his wife Kathleen, his father Jack, brother Mark and nephew Luke.
He is survived by his adult children Wayne, Joanne and Karl, his mother Maura, eight siblings, his four grandchildren, extended family, neighbours and friends.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Pervert who said he was ‘sorry' after sending boy 2,500 sexual messages finally jailed
James Varian broke down crying and sobbed 'I'm so sorry' when confronted by the Sunday World after we asked why he felt it appropriate to send the deluge of sexual messages to a 15-year-old boy James Varian was convicted of sending 2,500 messages to a 15-year-old boy over a nine-day period and also of possession of 9,000 images of child abuse A pervert who told the Sunday World he was 'sorry' for his crimes, after he was given a suspended sentence for bombarding a teenage boy with 2,500 sexual messages, has been jailed for three years after the DPP appealed on the grounds of leniency. James Varian broke down crying and sobbed 'I'm so sorry' when confronted by the Sunday World after we asked why he felt it appropriate to send the deluge of sexual messages to a 15-year-old boy. Varian, now 31, was also discovered to have over 9,000 files containing graphic imagery of child abuse on his computer when gardai later searched his home. Approached by the Sunday World, Varian told us he could not explain his actions other than to say he himself had been the victim of abuse in his past. 'I'm so sorry … I'm so sorry,' he said when asked if he would take the opportunity to apologise to his victim. 'I have an awful lot of work to do now to redeem myself. I've a lot of counselling to do.' Asked why he had harassed the underage boy and downloaded such horrific imagery, Varian said: 'I had similar issues in my own childhood.' James Varian was convicted of sending 2,500 messages to a 15-year-old boy over a nine-day period and also of possession of 9,000 images of child abuse News in 90 Seconds - Aug 9th Asked if he was saying he was a victim of abuse, he responded: 'I was, yeah, unfortunately.' Details of Varian's harassment of the child were first made to known to gardai when the boy he targeted and his father went to their local garda station to complain. During follow-up inquiries, officers carried out a search of Varian's property and seized hardware including phones and computers. An analysis of the devices subsequently uncovered the presence of 9,000 files containing imagery of child abuse. The files included 7,781 images and 1,970 videos. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that more than 1,000 of the images and 300 videos fell into the most serious category of abuse imagery depicting children either witnessing or engaging in sexual acts. The majority of these, the court was told, were computer generated. Det Sgt Brendan Corry told the court that gardai had begun their investigations after they were contacted in January 2022 by the teenage boy's father. He had discovered sexually explicit communications sent via the Telegram app to his son over Christmas in 2021 and early 2022. Varian, who had become aware that a complaint had been made against him, contacted gardai independently and informed them he believed they might be looking to speak with him. The court was also informed that around this time Varian contacted his victim and urged him to 'purge texts' and 'delete everything' in reference to their communications. Judge Dermot Sheehan was informed that Varian had entered pleas of guilty to possession of child pornography at the house where he lived at Ringmahon Road, Cork, on January 6, 2022, and a charge of using information and communication technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child. Appearing on behalf of Varian, Jane Hyland SC noted her client was dealing with high levels of anxiety and had 'autistic traits'. She said he was not 'minimizing' what he had done and was deeply sorry for his actions. Suspending a four-year sentence, Judge Dermot Sheehan noted that Varian had contacted gardai of his volition, had no previous convictions and had expressed remorse. However, the case came back before the Court of Appeal last week after the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence on the grounds that it was too lenient. Returning judgement, Mr Justice John Edwards said that the sentencing judge's reasons for fully suspending the sentences were 'relatively sparse', giving only Varian's age and the fact that he was a first-time offender. The Court of Appeal sentenced Varian to four years in custody with the final 12 months suspended for a period of 12 months for the count of sending explicit messages. They also sentenced him to two years in custody for the count of possession of child abuse images, to run concurrently with the first.
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
‘There's no way he killed himself' Jeffrey Epstein's former butler claims
'LOVED LIFE' | Former employee claims Trump offered disgraced financier a job during first term in White House In an interview that will heap renewed pressure on the Trump administration to make the Epstein files public, one of his closest aides said he spoke to the paedophile financier before he died and insisted he was in good spirits. Valdson Vieira Cotrin, who ran Epstein's Paris home, said he could not accept the official verdict of suicide and feared his own life was in danger. He also said he believed that Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of rape and died by suicide in April, was a victim of foul play. Mr Cotrin also made the extraordinary claim that Epstein told him he had been offered a job by Donald Trump in his first administration in 2016 – but that Epstein had turned it down. Donald Trump claims he fell out with Epstein in 2004. Photo: Reuters There is no evidence that the allegation is true and Mr Trump has maintained that he stopped speaking to Epstein in 2004 after they fell out over a business deal. But Mr Cotrin's recollection of a conversation with his boss will fuel a growing demand for the full Epstein files – the trove of documents from the criminal investigations into Epstein that allegedly name high-profile celebrities and politicians, possibly including Mr Trump – to be released in full. Jeffrey Epstein with his former butler Valdson Cotrin News in 90 Seconds - Aug 9th In his exclusive interview, Mr Cotrin, speaking on the record for the first time, also alleged: Mr Cotrin remains in possession of a number of photographs taken with friends of Epstein, including a photo of himself with Bill Clinton on the so-called Lolita Express, Epstein's private plane that he used to traffic underage girls and women for sex. The existence of the photo showing Mr Clinton on board Epstein's jet will also fuel demands for the former president to reveal his full dealings with Epstein. Mr Clinton was issued with a subpoena on Tuesday, demanding he give evidence to a congressional committee investigating the financier. Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary have both been subpoenaed to appear before the house oversight committee. Photo: AP Mr Cotrin also shared a photograph of himself with Epstein that was taken in January 2019 on his private jet, which may be one of the last taken of the financier. He looks puffy but is smiling and relaxed and notably wearing an Israel Defence Forces sweatshirt. Epstein has long been accused of being an operative for Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, although last month his former lawyer said that Epstein used to laugh off the claim. Mr Cotrin, who acted as Epstein's butler, chauffeur and cook in Paris, recalled driving his boss to Le Bourget Airport in Paris to catch a flight to New York, where he was arrested upon landing on July 6, 2019. I don't believe this was suicide. He loved life too much Epstein (66) was charged with sex trafficking underage girls and remanded in custody. He was found hanged in his cell on August 10. But Mr Cotrin is insistent Epstein would never have killed himself. Epstein had told him he was planning to negotiate with the judge in the case to secure bail, having been held in custody as a possible flight risk. 'I am like his brother [Mark Epstein]. I don't believe this was suicide. He loved life too much,' said Mr Cotrin. Mr Cotrin recalled seeing Epstein for the last time. Epstein, he said, was relaxed and had been talking about making more investments in his islands – he had discreetly bought a second, which Mr Cotrin visited – as well as spending more time in Paris. 'I drove him to Le Bourget Airport. It was a Saturday, because on Monday he was supposed to appear before the judge regarding all these accusations. 'When I got home, two young women rang, his main girlfriend who had been with him officially for several years, Karyna [Shuliak] and another who worked for him. And then they told me, 'Mr Epstein has gone to prison. He arrived in New York. The police were waiting for him'.' Mr Cotrin's partner, Maria Gomes de Melo, who also knew Epstein well, recalled that in Paris, Epstein had said goodbye to her and added: 'I'll be back next week', Ms de Melo told him: 'Sir, don't go.' She also questioned the official conclusion that he had killed himself. Epstein's brother, Mark, has suggested the financier may have been murdered, ordering a second post-mortem examination that tended to back up that assertion. 'On the Saturday late, we got the news that he had hanged himself, and honestly, he loved life too much to float away like that,' she said. The US department of justice has released nearly 11 hours of surveillance video from outside Epstein's cell in the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Centre, but a crucial minute from 11:58:58pm to midnight was missing. That has further fuelled conspiracy theories that Epstein was murdered to silence him. Mr Cotrin remains fiercely loyal to Epstein and insists he never saw his boss cavorting – let alone having sex – with underage girls. He said young women were hired to give Epstein massages and to cut his nails. 'The girls did that to him, but it stopped there,' he said. He gave an extraordinary insight into Epstein's world – and the rich and famous who would stop by for his guidance and hospitality. Mr Cotrin, who has joint French and Brazilian nationalities, worked for Epstein for 18 years, managing his sumptuous eight-bedroom Paris apartment on Avenue Foch overlooking the Arc de Triomphe. He lived in a garret flat on the sixth floor. But he also worked dozens of times at Epstein's properties in New York, Palm Beach, Florida and on Little St James, Epstein's private Caribbean island – dubbed 'paedophile island' – where he is said to have trapped and raped often underage victims. 'He trusted me completely,' said Mr Cotrin, who has not worked since his boss's death six years ago. 'I was his chauffeur, his cook, his housekeeper. I did everything in Paris, I was his only full-time, paid-up employee and worked for him from 2001 until his death. If someone could have seen something, it's Valdson, there's no one else,' he said. His interview took place in his French home over a beer and Brazilian bread and cheese balls that he says were a hit with Bill Gates. Upstairs, a large photo of Mr Cotrin and Epstein taken on the 'Lolita Express' hung on one wall, alongside another with the butler and Mr Clinton. Mr Cotrin reeled off a list of dignitaries who came to visit Epstein over two decades, including Prince Andrew, who he cooked for and chauffeured 'five or six times' in Paris and New York; Mr Clinton, whom he met once in Epstein's jet during a stopover in Paris; Peter Mandelson, now the UK's ambassador to Washington DC; Woody Allen; and Israeli ex-prime minister Ehud Barak, along with other Middle Eastern dignitaries. A photograph of Mr Mandelson with Epstein and Mr Cotrin taken at the Paris apartment on Epstein's birthday has been widely circulated, causing Mr Mandelson, the former Labour cabinet minister, huge embarrassment. Mr Cotrin has refused countless requests for interviews since Epstein was found hanged in his prison cell, but said he was breaking his silence to 'tell my truth' about Epstein, whom he refers to as 'Monsieur' or 'Patron'. Ms Giuffre killed herself at her home in Australia in April, aged 41. 'And what about Virginia [Giuffre] Roberts?' Mr Cotrin said, adding: 'I'm scared because after what happened to them, poor Valdson, who knows?' Mr Cotrin never met Mr Trump – Mr Trump and Epstein had fallen out over the sale of a property in Palm Beach in 2004. However, Mr Cotrin said that Epstein had boasted of being offered a job by Mr Trump after his surprise first presidential election win in November 2016. The claim – if true – would be dynamite, although there is no evidence to back it up. Sources inside Trump's first administration have told The Telegraph that Mr Cotrin's recollection appeared fanciful. Activists put up a poster showing Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein near the US Embassy in London. Photo: AP Mr Cotrin said: 'I can tell you one thing [regarding Mr Trump]. A few days after Trump's [2016] election, Mr Epstein arrived in Paris on Monday or Tuesday, and I went to pick him up at the airport. 'He said: 'Valdson, you saw that Trump is the new US president?' ''Yes,' I replied, 'I saw it on the news in Paris'. ''Well, Trump asked me to work for him in the new government'. 'I said: 'Congratulations. I'm happy for you,' in my bad English. 'He said: 'No I didn't accept.'' I asked no more questions as it wasn't my place Mr Cotrin insisted Epstein was not in the habit of trumpeting false claims in such a confidential setting. He said his boss made no mention of what position that might be. 'I was surprised because I would have thought such a position could be interesting, but I asked no more questions as it wasn't my place,' Mr Cotrin said. 'In my job, one waits to be spoken to. 'But in my opinion, if he did turn it down, it was because he liked his freedom, I think he didn't want to be controlled by anyone.' Mr Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
Sunday World
2 days ago
- Sunday World
Masked gunman got pizza instead of cash in Dublin takeaway robbery, court told
It was alleged that man accepted two pizzas, exited and gave one of them to the accused who left the area. A masked gunman threatened to shoot a food delivery man in Dublin but got away with a pizza instead of cash, a court has heard. Robert Lynch, of no fixed abode, was charged with attempted robbery on June 22 at Clarehall Shopping Centre car park, Dublin 17, and unlawful possession of a hinged knife with a four-inch blade as an offensive weapon at the time of his arrest on Thursday. He was denied bail when he appeared before Judge Cephas Power at Dublin District Court today. Garda Jordan Martin, Coolock station, objected to bail due to the seriousness of the offence. A man holding a pizza box. Close-up. News in 90 Seconds - Aug 8th Citing the strength of the evidence, he alleged that the attempted armed robbery took place at 3.10 am when a lone male approached an Apache pizza at Clarehall Shopping Centre, and spoke to one of the delivery drivers sitting in a vehicle outside. The contested bail hearing was told that he then "produced a firearm from his jacket pocket, pointed it at him and demanded he hand over any money." It was claimed Mr Lynch told him, "He would shoot him if he didn't hand over any money." The driver then offered to go into the pizzeria to get cash. Garda Martin said the accused allegedly told the driver he would send another man into to collect. Garda Martin stated Mr Lynch walked to a nearby underground car park to speak to another male who then went into the pizza restaurant for the money. He reportedly told workers he had been sent over by his friend with the gun. Garda Martin said the staff told him: "They had no money to give but would give him some pizza." It was alleged that man accepted two pizzas, exited and gave one of them to the accused who left the area. The court heard that the driver told gardai the man who approached him had a gun, and that what appeared to be a firearm could be seen on CCTV evidence. Garda Martin agreed with defence solicitor Eoin Lysaght that an ID parade was not held, and it happened around a car park, but stated there were not many people in the area at that time. He also conceded that no firearm was recovered. Mr Lynch made no admissions on arrest and has yet to enter a plea. The court also heard he was not awaiting trial for any other offences. Judge Power remarked that the case would likely go forward to the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers, but stressed the accused had the presumption of innocence, and he noted the defence had exposed issues in the case. However, he refused bail and remanded Mr Lynch in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on August 14 for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Legal aid was granted.
