Gabriel William Moran (22 Aug 1948 - 6 Oct 2021)

In loving memory of Gabriel William Moran who sadly passed away on 6th October, 2021. He is missed greatly by his family and friends.

Born in 1948 to a farming family in Co. Roscommon, Gabriel was already used to 'hard graft' well before his teen years. At just 14 years of age, like his brothers before him, he went to work at the local drift mine in Arigna, where Gabe's short stature was an advantage in working (by hand) the 16" high coal seams.

At 15 years, the family smallholding was sold and Gabe, and his mother and father moved to Nottingham to join his older siblings, Tom, Micky, Peter, Maura and Pauline. Gabriel completed an apprenticeship in steel erecting.

Gabriel met his future wife, Ann, at a Cathedral Hall dance in Nottingham and they married on 2nd July, 1966. Married for 55 years, Gabe and Ann had three children (Colin, Des, and Gabrielle), and two granddaughters (Elspeth and Florence).

Gabe erected steel structures all over the country until his cowboy boots and flares proved too much of a hindrance to his tap-dancing across iron beams two- and three-hundred feet up in the air. So, Gabe retrained to be a welder (working with molten metal being—by far—the much safer trade).

Gabriel played guitar, and what he lacked in technical ability, he more than compensated with enthusiasm. His renditions of 'Gypsy Woman' and 'I walk the line' were unique and will be (genuinely) missed by all.

When Gabe retired, he became a keen gardener with an eye for detail. He was very particular about his hedges. I did not witness him using a string line and plumb bob, but it would not surprise me to learn that he did.

Family flowers only, please. In lieu of flowers, donations to Macmillan Cancer Support would be greatly appreciated. (‘JustGiving’ details/link above).

As there will be vulnerable people in attendance, attendees of the service are required to administer lateral flow tests on the morning of the service and to wear masks when entering and leaving the crematorium.

For those unable to attend the service (or who receive a positive test result), webcast streaming of the service is available (please contact Ann for details).