KATHRYN HAYES
He is irreplaceable. A poignant and powerful tribute from some of the people in Limerick whose lives were touched by Polish marathon runner Michal Rejmer.
For friends and club-mates at Dooneen Athletics Club, who joined the search party for the missing 38-year-old last Friday, little did they know it would finish less than an hour later in such tragic circumstances.
Originally from Radom in central Poland, Michal moved to Ireland in 2004 and began working at the McDonald’s outlet in Castletroy in Limerick eight years ago.
Work colleagues remember him as “a really good worker who got on well with everyone”.
Only child
An only child, he is pre-deceased by his parents: his mother died in a car accident a number of years ago and his father passed away some time before that.
After he moved to Ireland the 38-year-old began the paperwork to bring his closest companion and “best friend” Berta, a Labrador dog, over.
Sadly, Berta died last year.
“His best friend was his dog, they were inseparable and his dog died not too long ago and I remember he was really upset about that and one of the lads at the club offered to help him look after the arrangements because he was so upset,” recalled Ger Meehan, welfare officer with Dooneen.
A talented runner, Michal was introduced to the Dooneen club in Limerick five years ago where runners instantly warmed to his “beautiful nature and infectious smile”.
Facebook appeal
Indeed, his popularity was reflected in the huge numbers who responded to the club’s Facebook appeal for volunteers to help in the search for Michal after he was officially reported missing on January 6th last.
Many of those who gathered in the car park of Castletroy Shopping Centre at 10am last Friday morning were soon to hear the tragic news that Michal’s partially covered body was discovered in the back garden of the house he shared at nearby Briarfield with two other people.
Michal’s natural speed and talent for running was evident from the excellent times he posted for 10ks, half marathons and full marathons.
He was also easily recognisable with his distinctive bandana that he wore during competition. One of his highlights was running the 2012 Great Limerick Run marathon in a time of 2 hours 45 minutes, finishing fifth overall. A year later, he competed in the Dingle Marathon, finishing in third place, and last year he finished 18th in the National Marathon Championships – a remarkable achievement that others can only dream about, according to his running colleagues.
Described as a real “club” runner, he would compete for his club even after working long hours or before starting his shift at McDonald’s.