The 16-year-old died after the motorcycle he was driving was involved in a collision with a car on the R252 at Cloghan at around 4.30pm on Saturday, April 25.<\/p>\n
Josh was well known throughout the community and local sporting circles having played football, GAA and rugby for clubs in the Finn Valley area.<\/p>\n
He was a past pupil of Welchtown National School and a fifth year pupil at Finn Valley College.<\/p>\n
Glenfin Parish Priest, Fr Lorcan Sharkey attended the scene on Saturday afternoon and described the loss of the teenager as a tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a young boy at just 16 years old and still at school.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh loved his motorcycle; like many young boys do around here. They love their motorbikes and their quads.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is from a high respected family and his father\u2019s family has been involved in a stone business, Morrow Stone, for many years while the Thompson\u2019s are also well known in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole community is deeply saddened by this tragedy. <\/p>\n
\u201cMyself and the local Church of Ireland rector met with his family and we will continue to do so over the next few days just to be with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no answers; all we can do is be with them and show them that we feel very much for them,\u201d said Fr Sharkey.<\/p>\n
Fr Sharkey said the community will now come together and support the family in every way that they can.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are lots of victims in this tragedy including the driver of the car and it is very important that we think on them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community will rally around Josh\u2019s family and help them during this difficult time,\u201d said Fr Sharkey.<\/p>\n
Welchtown National School and Finn Valley College opened on Sunday night for the community to gather and remember the teenager. <\/p>\n
In a tribute posted online, Welchtown Nation School said: “It is with deep sadness that we learn of the tragic passing of Josh Morrow, a much-loved past pupil of Welchtown N.S.<\/p>\n
“He will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by everyone in this community.<\/p>\n
“On behalf of the Board of Management, staff, parents and friends of our school, we offer our heartfelt sympathy to Josh\u2019s family and friends at this very sad time.<\/p>\n
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Finn Valley college said: \u201cIn light of the devastating news following the tragic death of one of our cherished fifth year students, our thoughts are with everyone affected, especially the families and friends at the heart of this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh was a talented rugby player having risen through the ranks at Finn Valley Rugby Club and had recently lined out for Ulster.<\/p>\n
He was recently recognised with the Finn Valley U16s Player of the Year award at the club\u2019s end of season celebrations and received an IRFU Spirit of Rugby Volunteer award for his time spent supporting the club, helping with activities and training sessions.<\/p>\n
Finn Valley Rugby Club said everyone at the club is devastated and heartbroken at the tragic loss of Josh, who had been involved in the club since he was three years old.<\/p>\n
“As a playing member and coming up through our underage Minis teams, he always played with dedication, determination and skill, captaining his U14 and U16 teams with great leadership and respect.<\/p>\n
“It was no surprise that Josh was put forward for selection and accepted onto the Ulster Development Squad and through the hard work, commitment and qualities that made him a valued club team player, made us all very proud by being selected and playing for the Ulster U18 team recently in their match against Monaghan.<\/p>\n
“Josh really was the star of the Finn Valley Rugby Club and a true gentleman dedicated to his beloved sport.<\/p>\n
“Our sincerest sympathy and deepest condolences are with Elma, Gerry, Matthew and Sarah, his family, friends, team mates and all who loved him.<\/p>\n
“God bless, rest peacefully Josh and thank you for your absolute dedication to FVRC over the years.<\/p>\n
“We will miss you beyond measure.”<\/p>\n
Following the crash, a number of Glenfin GAA matches were cancelled over the weekend.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for CLG Ghleann Fhinne said: “Everyone at CLG Ghleann Fhinne is heartbroken following the tragic death of Josh Morrow.<\/p>\n
“Josh was a very talented player and held in the highest regard throughout the parish.<\/p>\n
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this difficult time.”<\/p>\n
Cappry Rovers Football Club suspended all training sessions and games over the coming days as a mark of respect following the tragic crash.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the club said, \u201cWe are deeply saddened by the passing of Josh Morrow, who played with our club.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh was a valued member of our club, and his loss is felt by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to the wide circle of friends and teammates connected to our club.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur thoughts are with you all at this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kia Kabs said the young man will be remembered for his kindness, humour, dependability and warm smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with profound sadness and broken hearts that the team at Kia learn of the sudden and without farewell passing of our cherished Josh.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn only a few years, Josh made a lasting impact on myself and all the boys who worked with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe brought a real joy to our yard and will be deeply missed by us all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWords can’t express how deeply sorry we are Elma, Gerry, Sarah, Matthew, Shane and Jason and all the extended Morrow and Thompson families and friends for your loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wonderful Josh will forever be remembered and cherished by us all at Kia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funeral details are expected to be announced in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Garda\u00ed are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said, \u201cRoad users who may have camera footage, including dash-cam footage and were travelling in the area between 4pm and 5pm are asked to make this available to investigating Garda\u00ed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone with information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 985 8530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 16-year-old died after the motorcycle he was driving was involved in a collision with a car on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25665,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-419814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-emma-ryan","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}