Francis Lagan RIP

St Mary’s University has been informed of the loss of one of our alumni, Francis Lagan, who tragically passed away on Friday during Storm Arwen. Francis, who graduated in 2004, was the Head Teacher of St Mary’s Primary School in Maghera, Northern Ireland.

St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor, Anthony McClaran said, “The St Mary’s community is extremely saddened to learn of the sudden tragic loss of Francis Lagan, who was a popular student whilst at St Mary’s in the early 2000s and who was at heart of life on campus. We offer our deepest sympathy to Francis’s family and close friends and to all who knew him in his school and local communities.”

Director of the St Mary’s Institute of Education Prof Anna Lise Gordon said, “Education colleagues remember Francis Lagan with fondness and are deeply shocked at the tragic news. Francis was an alumnus who made a difference to the lives of so many teachers and children in his professional work and will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and school community.”

The University will celebrate Mass in memory of Francis on Monday 6^th December at 1.05pm in the University Chapel and anyone who knew him will be welcome to attend.

We would encourage members of the St Mary’s community affected by this tragic news to reach out and seek support, which is available as follows:

The Student Services team: studentservices@stmarys.ac.uk Tel: 020 8240 2359

or

The Chaplaincy team: Chaplaincy@stmarys.ac.uk Tel: 020 8240 4002