Streets stand still for goalkeeper Raymond Blessington came to a standstill as hundreds of mourners gathered at the Church of Our Lady to say one final farewell to Raymond Daniels. The Blessington and Wicklow goalkeeper died suddenly the previous Saturday night as he was about to enjoy a night out in Naas with friends. Seldom has such a hush descended over Blessington as shops closed for the duration of the funeral and barely a moving car or vehicle could be spotted roaming the streets. The death of Raymond 'Rashers' Murphy united whole communities in grief , and not just that of Blessington. Mourning team-mates paid their respects by donning their Wicklow and Blessington GAA jerseys, as did his fellow players belonging to Blessington soccer club. Fans and friends could be seen with a jersey mournfully draped over their shoulders. Others opted for a simple armband bearing the Wicklow or Blessington colours. Fr. Tim Murphy told the massive congregation that he imagined God and Raymond would have plenty in common. 'God will be going to him, me and you are a lot alike, you know? When the play is in the centre of the field everyone forgets about you, and takes you for granted. But when they muck it up and the ball comes forward they then expect you to pull off miracles.' He also described Raymond's death as a 'terrible tragedy' and further stated, 'you shouldn't have died so young.' In his eulogy, the former chairman of Blessington GAA, Michael Sargent spoke movingly and with conviction on the pride he felt in knowing 'one of the most agreeable people you could have met in your life. A real gentleman.' He said that Raymond had always preferred the goalkeeper position since his days as a youngster, and said Dunlavin's Jimmy Whittle deserved plenty of credit for turning him into a number one in the county. 'Only on Thursday Jimmy rang Raymond and asked him if he was ready to be number one again. Raymond said he was fine being number three for the time being and was going to train with the Under 21s first to regain his fitness. That's the sort of humble person he was.' However, he added that Raymond would always be regarded as Wicklow top man between the posts. 'He absolutely put himself through the ringer to get fit again and I don't think either Mervyn Travers or Billy Norman would mind me saying, he was always number one once he was fit." Mr Sargent noted that of all the GAA funerals to have taken place in Blessington over the years , none had the same impact as Raymond's. 'At the removal yesterday I have never seen Blessington's Main Street so quiet. We have never had the whole main street to ourselves but that's exactly what we had yesterday.' - courtesy of The Wicklow People, 6th February 2008 Community mourns loss of goalkeeper Raymond The tragic passing of Raymond Daniels has left a family in mourning and GAA fans across the county in complete shock. The funeral today (Wednesday) for the 28-year-olf from Carrig Glen, Blessington, is expected to be one of the largest ever seen in the area, such has been the huge outpouring of grief across County Wicklow. The streets will come to a standstill for the funeral for the popular goalkeeper with guards of honour from Blessington GAA Club, Dunlavin GAA club and county side. Raymond or 'Rasher' as he was often known to his many friends, was travelling in a taxi to Time nightclub in Naas on Saturday night when he suddenly became ill. He was brought to Naas General Hospital after complaining he was short of breath and died there early on Sunday morning. A heart attack is believed to have been the cause of death. Poignantly, the young man had only last week been given an "all clear' from doctors after undergoing six weeks of dialysis treatment in Tallaght Hospital for a kidney complaint. He is survived by his mother Theresa, father Brendan, brothers Shane and Jonathan, grandmother Sarah Leigh, aunts, uncles, relatives and friends, as well as fiancee Linda Carroll, to whom he was only recently engaged, and their much loved two year old son Ben. Raymond was mainstay of the county football team until his playing career was interupted by injury last year. He tore a groin muscle playing for Wicklow in the National Football League game against Sligo last April. However, that injury had also healed up following an operation and he was said to be looking forward to making a return between the posts and was about to start easing himself back into action by training with Blessington Under 21s. Hugely popular locally, Raymond began his illustrious football career with Dunlavin, where he lived at the time and attended St Kevin's Community College. He ended up winning a county medal with Dunlavin schools and also kept goal for the Wicklow Vocational Schools Leinster title win. He was named senior player of the year in Dunlavin in 1998 and was also selected as the Blessington Senior Player of the Year in 2003. No matter what problems he may have been dealing with himself, he always had time for people to make himself available for a chat. He also played soccer for Blessington, once again as goalkeeper, and was an avid Liverpool fan. A talented all-round sportsman, he first took up playing football at the tender age of five and never once looked back in a career that was tragicaly cut short. Despite his success as a player, he was still very approachable and was always on hand to offer advice to members of the juvenile panel. He had worked laying carpets and floors for Stephen Doyle, who also happens to be part of the Blessington management team. Deputy Billy Timmins TD knows the family and can't get over his shock at his sudden death. "It's a very, very sad day for the people of Blessington. I know he had made a full recovery and was looking forward to getting back on the pitch where he belonged. 'He was an excellent player. Its sad to see someone so young pass away and he was a really lovely man. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.' All Wicklow football and hurling teams playing on Sunday held an impeccably observed minutes silence at all fixtures throughout the county on Sunday. The Wicklow County Board also reached with stunned disbelief to the breaking news. It made for an emotional dressing room in Aughrim on Sunday as they prepared to go out on the pitch to play Laois. His death also brought back memories of other young sports players dieing as a result of suspected heart attacks, such as Tyrone GAA captain Cormac McAnallen and Irish Under 21 rugby player John McCall. Tributes also have been flooding in from friends, team mates and colleagues still trying to come to terms with his death. His remains were removed on Tuesday to the Church of Our Lady in Blessington and funeral mass takes place at the same location today at 11am. His burial takes place afterwards in Burgage Cemetery. - courtesy of The Wicklow People, January 30th 2008 Tweet

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