Golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jr found solace in faith

Golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jr found solace in faith Christy O’Connor Jr

Irish golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jr’s strong faith “came to his rescue” after his teenage son’s death, his funeral was told on Tuesday.

The 67-year-old, known for playing a lead role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win in 1989, had been on holiday in Tenerife when he died in his sleep on Wednesday, January 6.

At his funeral at Galway Cathedral, close family friend Fr Michael Kelly, retired Parish Priest of Craughwell, said the golfer’s “strong faith” helped him after his 17-year-old son Darren died in a car accident in 1998 and he “spoke openly and confidently of his conviction that he would meet Darren again”. “He prayed to him and for him and was convinced that Darren came to his assistance more than once,” he said.

Recalling the glowing tributes for the golf star over the last week, Fr Kelly said it sounded like he might be pushing for a cause for canonisation. “We might need a miracle or two to support the cause,” he said, but the Galway-man was “one of our greatest”.

“Although out of sight, Christy will be watching over you.  He has only gone to God and God is very near,” Fr Kelly said.