Prayer service to be held in Blessington
A prayer service will be held in the Church of Our Lady Blessington on Friday night at 8pm for our friend and neighbour James (Jam) Nolan RIP.
A book of condolence will be available to sign, all are welcome please spread the word!!
The community of Blessington and beyond are united in grief, please lets show our support for the Nolan family and his friends that were with him in Poland and most especially for James RIP.
The mayor of Bydgoszcz has asked the UEFA President for a minute's silence ahead of one of the Euro 2012 quarter-finals, in memory of the Blessington man.
A post mortem examination was carried out this afternoon.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is liaising with Mr Nolan's family, who arrived in the city last night to identify the remains.
It is believed Mr Nolan accidentally fell into the water 500m from the bar where he had been socialising with friends.
He was in Poland with friends for Euro 2012.
Vincent Balfe, the Chairman of Blessington FC, knew Mr Nolan, and said this morning that it was meant to be the "trip of a lifetime" for the young man.
He said: "It's something he had looked forward to for so long and saved for so long and obviously our hearts go out to the other lads who were over there with him.
“The six guys are all local lads as well, some of them are his clubmates here in the football club.
"It's something they had just set their hearts on for a long long time, a trip of a lifetime, and unfortunately turned into a nightmare."
Hundreds of residents of the Polish city gathered along the river Brda this morning in an outpouring of sympathy.
Flowers, candles and photos of Mr Nolan adorned with black ribbons lined an area of a bank of the river.
Bydgoszcz Mayor Rafal Bruski said the minute's silence would "be a symbolic gesture of respect from all of us, showing that in such moments the great football family is united."
In a letter to Michel Platini he wrote: "Let us pay tribute to the Irish, the best supporters of the tournament. Let it be a day of solidarity with those who are the most affected by this untimely death," Mr Bruski added in a separate public declaration.
"An Irish flag flew at half-mast in front of city hall, and green-white-orange flags will adorn the historic city centre where the tragedy occurred," said Bydgoszcz cityhall spokesman Piotr Kurek.
"This is not entirely consistent with official protocol, but we wanted to express our solidarity with Ireland," he added.
Cafes and restaurants in the city's central tourist district decorated their windows with Irish flags, flowers and photos of Mr Nolan with black ribbons.
"We also wanted to adorn our bar, but it's impossible to buy an Irish flag in Bydgoszcz. I've been searching for one everywhere since yesterday," Szymon Hochenberg, owner of the bar where Mr Nolan was socialising, told AFP news agency.
Thousands of messages of support have been posted on social networks including one from his cousin Laura which reads.
I am James Nolan's cousin and I was asked to write memories of James on this page and I said that I would be more than happy to do so.
I remember the times Jam used to stay in our Nannys house which is right beside mine, I always used to come in in the morning and take some of his toast and ask our nanny for more i knew they never minded:).
Jam is my closest older cousin in age and the one i always admired and looked up in school and whenever i saw him, i remember seeing him always laughing and having great fun with his friends, whenever I seen him in the school corridors he gave his famous cheeky smile and said 'Alright Laura' :).
Jam was a barman in Blessington and is the best barman ever, he had the laughs with his mates and always had that one in a million smile on his face♥
Another memory I have with Jam is seeing him at a festival called Knockanstockan, I seen him at a tea and coffee stand at about 2 in the morning with a beer in one hand and a huge burger in the other, we said heya and he looked confused as why I was there as I am his ' little cousin Laura' we talked for another while about how the festival was going and what bands we saw and liked:) Jam loves the real Irish tunes and was always a great man for getting up on the dancefloor at one of the weddings or on nights out.
The last time I seen James was the night of his 21st birthday only about 2 weeks ago:) all his family and friends were there having the times of our lifes! awh it was a brilliant night im so glad I got to give you a hug and a kiss as one of your 21 kisses♥ looking at all the photos of all us Nolans throughout the years shows how loved Jam was by everyone and just how close of a family we are.
Your always in out heart Jam and will be forever. Rest In Peace Jammers, my dad, your bro, Gar and Sophie are in Poland with you now♥♥ Youll be home soon Jam, back in Blessington with all your family and friends that love you eternally your a hero Jam ♥♥♥♥
