THE late Paul Coyle has been remembered as a man who ‘lived for the now’ and enjoyed life, as mourners from across the North paid their respects to one of Fermanagh’s greatest GAA players.
The county has been united in grief following the sudden death of the much-loved father-of-six, who passed away unexpectedly at his home in Swatragh, aged 56.
At his Requiem Mass at the Church of St John the Baptist in Swatragh last weekend, celebrant Charlie Keaney recalled Mr Coyle as being ‘a good lad, a while good fella’.
Born in the border townland of Laughill in July 1977, Mr Coyle was the oldest of seven children to Paul and Breege Coyle.
He underwent his early education at St Martin’s Primary School in Garrison, before studying at St Michael’s College in Enniskillen, where he developed and embraced his love of football.
While studying in Ulster University Jordanstown, Mr Coyle was a key player on the team that went on to win the Sigerson Cup and Ryan Cup in the same season, in 1987.
“Sometimes a match is made in heaven, but in this occasion, the match was made at a Sigerson Cup match in Bellaghy,” recalled Fr Keaney.
“Paul was there and Sally (Mooney) were there and they were introduced and 30 years later and six children later, that was how the story panned out.”
He went on to have a decorated football career, winning five Fermanagh Senior Football Championship titles with his hometown club, Devenish St Mary’s, in the 1980s and 1990s.
He also represented the Fermanagh inter-county team with distinction, from 1984 to 1995.
After spending some time working around Enniskillen, Mr Coyle married his wife, Sally, in the Church of St John the Baptist in Swatragh in 1993.
They set up home in Mountfield, outside Omagh, where they welcomed their first two children, Aoife and Peader.
The family later moved to Swatragh where Mr Coyle and his wife welcomed their four children, Niall, Eimear, Meave and Fergal.
Mr Coyle always remained loyal to Fermanagh and he joined the inter-county management team for three seasons, from 2008 to 2010.
He played a key role in the county’s Ulster Championship Final run in 2008.
Known as a very whitty character, Mr Coyle had a talent for mathematics and counting. He was appointed to the role of General Manager of Northern Counties Co-Op Enterprises Ltd in 2013.
He enjoyed spending time with his family. Just prior to his death, he spent a week-long holiday with his wife, Sally, in Kraków in Poland.
At his Requiem Mass, his wife Sally paid a heartfelt tribute to her late husband.
“Paul [Coyle] would be laughing when he heard me talking because he was the talker and I was the listener. We loved listening to all of the stories that Paul had to say,” said Ms Coyle.
“His main goal in life was making us all happy and he made a great deal of time arranging and rearranging things to make everyone as happy as we were.”
He is survived by his wife Sally, his sons Peadar, Niall and Fergal, his daughters Aoife, Emer and Meabh, his mother Breege, his brothers Patsy, Adrian, Declan and Kevin and his sisters Sharon and Caroline.
He is predeceased by his father Paul.
Following his Requiem Mass at the Church of St John the Baptist on Friday, he was interred in the adjoining cemetery.
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