COMEDIAN BRENDAN O’CARROLL called Liveline this afternoon offering to cover the funeral costs for a Polish man who died in Ennis on Christmas Day.

The 51-year-old man passed away at his flat, local woman Josie O’Brien – who initially contacted the show – explained to Joe Duffy.

He had formerly been homeless.

The man had been living in the Clare town for around seven or eight years, Josie said – explaining that she knew him from a Christmas Dinner programme she helped organise for homeless people in the town.

The man’s landlord told her he had died on Christmas Day. His body has been in the morgue in Limerick ever since.

While the man had been identified and his family informed, there was some confusion locally over his burial arrangements, Josie said.

Clare County Council, which has offered a plot for the man, contacted the programme to say it would do its “utmost” to see the man properly buried.

“It seems to be all paperwork,” Josie said, explaining that the cost of the funeral ceremony and other arrangements still had to be covered.

Offers of help

As the conversation continued, a local undertaker called in to say he would look after the funeral, and that Josie could contact the church to book a day.

“I’m new in business in Ennis, but I just think it would be a good gesture on my part to help out,” the undertaker, Cyril Cusack, said.

We’ll give him a dignified burial.

The segment ended on that positive note.

However, later on, Duffy told listeners that O’Carroll had been in contact from Florida to say he would cover the costs of the funeral and burial.

“That’ll go into the pot as well,” the presenter said. 

RTÉ Radio 1 / SoundCloud

It’s not the first time the Dublin comedian has acted Good Samaritan on Liveline: last summer he stepped in to help a young Irish couple whose belongings were stolen as they arrived in the US for a J1 stay.

The Mrs Brown’s Boys star also regularly pays for Christmas dinners for families in the greater Dublin area, via substantial donations to the Saint Vincent de Paul.

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