The family of a Dubs fan who died last month want to bring his ashes to one last game – but they can’t get tickets to tomorrow's All Ireland final at Croke Park.
Roofer Mark Hopkins was a “true Blue until his last breath”, but he also embraced touching loyalties to Kerry where his son Jamie, three, was born.
His older brother Aaron 32 said he and his sister Holly, 21, are hoping to carry his ashes to Hill 16 to “be together for one last game”.
They are now sending out an appeal for two tickets to join 82,000 fans for the Dublin-Kerry showdown at GAA HQ to realise their emotional sporting tribute.
Read more: Garda bosses desperately scramble for officers to volunteer to police All-Ireland final
Aaron told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Mark had such a love for Dublin GAA. He was a true Blue, until his last breath.
“But his heart, his little boy, Jamie, was born in Kerry. So, there will always be a piece of Mark in Dublin and Kerry too.
“That’s why the Dublin-Kerry final is so important to us. It’s just such a fitting way to remember Mark.”
Mark, originally from Cabra in North Dublin, moved with his family to Meath as a child and then moved to Kerry when he was 18.
He fell in love and got engaged and the couple became devoted parents to Jamie, but later separated.
Aaron revealed: “Mark remained a very committed dad. He was up and down to see Jamie all the time.
“He’d lived down there 10 years and loved Kerry. He’d developed the accent...
“Sadly, Mark had a problem with addiction and went into rehab.
“Mark said in rehab ‘I want to get out and get good for Jamie, to make him proud of me.’ And he worked hard.
“He came out of it brilliant. He was a changed man.”
Mark moved to Derry and began a new relationship. He set up a roofing business and it seemed he was really turning his life around.
But in January he was taken to hospital. The family feared he’d relapsed, but Aaron said the doctors explained Mark had suffered liver damage from paracetamol use,
“The doctors said they couldn’t find illegal drugs, but they found paracetamol and there was liver damage from that,” Aaron explained.
“The doctors said it is so common that people damage their liver from paracetamol over use and we were so surprised. It was awful.
“Mark’s liver failed and his kidneys failed. He was in ICU for a month and in hospital for three months.
“We got him home but the brush with death reset him to how he’d been before rehab. Mark reverted back to using cocaine.
“I don’t know if it was that he gave up, or if it was just too much to bear the mental aspect of what he’d been through.”
The family had nursed Mark back to health for six months but he left and returned to Derry.
“Within two weeks, we got a call from the hospital that Mark had relapsed,” Aaron said.
“He passed away in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry on June 19. We haven’t got a cause of death yet, but essentially we were told there was total organ failure.
“It was the damage to his liver. We found his medical notes and they stated he had psoriasis of the liver.”
In memory of his brother and in a bid to help anyone suffering addiction, Aaron said: “Don’t go it alone. No matter what you’ve done, no matter how much you think you’ve made a mess of things – and you may feel you’ve let people down too much – reach out.
“You’re loved, you’re wanted and people will miss you more than you could ever know.”
Though Mark had made “mistakes” during his life, Aaron said he had a “big heart for everyone”.
“Mark loved Hill 16,” Aaron said. “He loved it since he was a kid, but he rarely got to go there when he was a boy.
“He loved the rebelliousness of it and that was Mark all over. He was a live wire and so much fun. But he had such a heart. He’d have helped anyone.
“He loved Dublin but he loved Kerry too and part of him should be at that game. It would be the perfect way to celebrate his life.”
- IF you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this articleconract: National Drugs Helpline
- Call 1800 459 459
- Samaritans
- Call 116 123, text 087 2609090 or email jo@samaritans. ie
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