Dozens of Kerry people turn up to funeral of emigrant man who died in London with no family

Dozens of Kerry people in London have attended the funeral of a Kingdom native who died there with no known family.

John Lynch was laid to rest in West London this morning. Between 80 and 100 people turned up in his memory after an appeal this week. Mr Lynch was born in the village of Ballylongford in north Kerry but left with his parents for England at the age of two over 70 years ago. As an adult he settled in London, where he worked as a fitter for most of his life. Despite being brought up in the UK, he never forgot his roots and regularly wore his Kerry GAA jersey in the care home where he spent his later years. When he passed away from kidney failure last month, no living relatives of his could be found. The funeral directors made an appeal for anyone in London with a Kerry connection to attend the funeral. It was picked up by Radio Kerry's Deirdre Walsh, who shared the story on her Talk About show yesterday. It struck a chord with listeners in both Kerry and London, she tells Her. "None of them knew him but they felt he was a bit of a lost soul. It was desperately sad. "He was one of their own and they wanted to to remember him." Mr Lynch was always fiercely proud of where he came from, she added. "He left at the age of two but was never lost that connection."   Images via iStock.