The niece of one of Galway’s most famous hurlers, Sylvie Linnane, has died tragically while on her first holiday abroad in Turkey.
Twenty-year-old Mary Linnane, originally from Belmullet, Co Mayo, was on vacation at the popular Turkish resort of Kusadasi when she fell to her death from an apartment building last Tuesday. She was two days into her holiday with 11 friends from the Belmullet area.
The young woman, who was a student nurse at Dublin City University, was the daughter of Martin Linnane, a former senior intercounty hurler for Galway, and the niece of legendary hurler Sylvie Linnane, who is considered one of Galway’s greatest players with three All-Ireland titles, two National Hurling League medals, and three All-Star awards.
Ms Linnane is also survived by her mother Kathleen, as well as four sisters and one brother. She was buried yesterday afternoon at Glencastle New Cemetery in Bunnahowen, Co Mayo.
Ms Linnane is the eighth Irish person under the age of 25 to die tragically while abroad in the last month. Last week the Department of Foreign Affairs, who are providing consular assistance to the young woman’s family, told the media that this year it has provided assistance for 110 families dealing with tragedies abroad. This is almost equal to the 130 overseas deaths they dealt with in 2007 and this is before August, which is the top vacation month of the year.
