THE BODY of 27-year-old father-of-two Gavin Nugent was laid to rest in St. Fintan’s Cemetery in Taghmon on Wednesday after he was tragically killed in a motorbike accident on Friday night while travelling home from a funeral.

Gardai were alerted to the crash, which happened on the N11 near Ferrycarrig, just before 8:30 p.m. and the road was closed to facilitate a forensic collision examination of the area.

The former Wexford Vocational student was fatally injured when his motorcycle collided with a car. He was brought to Wexford GeneralHospital where a post mortem examination took place on Saturday.

The death is the second blow to the small, tight-knit community of Taghmon who, earlier that same day, had said goodbye to young David Nash Doyle (13), whose mother Jenny was from the village.

It is understood that Gavin had been travelling home from that funeral at which he had been part of a motorcycle Guard of Honour which lead the little boy to St. Fintan’s Church.

Gavin, the son of Helen Nugent and Michael Morrissey, and father of Jason (5) and Brooke (3), comes from a well-known Taghmon family. Devastatingly, he is the fourth member of the Nugent family to die in a motorcycle accident; three of his uncles had previously died in motorcycle accidents a number of years ago.

Gavin was described by his family as “a loving father, brother and son” who always had a smile on his face, was always on the go and couldn’t sit still for five minutes. He had a passion for hot rods and modified cars and worked as a steel erector for a number of years.

Tributes poured in for the popular 27-year-old with flowers left at the site of the collision over the weekend, including one from his sister Kelly who said: “Brother. Missing you. RIP Bro. Love you. Kelly.”

Gavin is survived by his parents Helen Nugent and Michael Morrissey; his brothers and sisters Shane, Kelly, Janice, Shineen and CJ; his children Jason and Brooke and a wide circle of friends and family.

[Full story in this week’s Echo]