The funeral takes place in Britain today of a Co Down man who had been homeless for "about 20 years" and who died without any family or friends around him.
A death notice in yesterday's Irish Times appealed for "any friends or relatives" of Jim O'Hare (64) to contact the James Paget hospital in Great Yarmouth, where he died on July 3rd. He will be cremated this morning and a hospital spokeswoman said yesterday no one had been in contact about him. Mr O'Hare was from Warrenpoint, Newry, and had been admitted via the A&E department about two weeks before his death. The spokeswoman said no one had visited him during that fortnight and that he "seemed like a very nice chap".
A couple who run a pub in the town but who did not want to be named said Mr O'Hare "would just sleep where he could" and "loved to just chat".
Emigrant Advice has said it is "crucial" that the experience of Irish emigrants to Britain was remembered when legislation to address immigration is drafted in the autumn. At the publication of the agency's submission on the forthcoming Immigration and Residence Bill, the information officer Joe O'Brien said: "We should learn from the experience of those Irish people who found it difficult to settle abroad and try to ensure that people coming here are made welcome."
