The community of Castletownbere and the wider Beara Peninsula is in mourning this week following the sudden and unexpected passing of Michael Donegan of Posteys House, Derrymihan West, Castletownbere, Co. Cork. Michael died at home on Monday, 1st June 2026, leaving behind a family and a community utterly heartbroken by the news.
Michael was the much loved and deeply treasured son of Seán and Cáit (née O’Neill) Donegan. He was the adored younger or older brother — that much doesn’t need saying — of Caoimhe, Seán Óg, and Aoibheann. Anyone who knows families like the Donegans, rooted in the beauty and salt-air toughness of the Beara Peninsula, will understand just how tightly knit that kind of love runs. It doesn’t need to be spoken to be felt, and right now it’s being felt very deeply indeed.
He was also the cherished grandson of Eileen O’Neill, and it’s a comfort — however small — to know that his grandparents Michael and Mary Donegan, and Paul O’Neill, who predeceased him, are there beyond the veil to welcome him home.
Michael had been studying Radiography at University College Dublin, a discipline that demands both intellectual rigour and a genuine care for people’s wellbeing. It says something real about who he was. His UCD Radiography classmates and friends have been among the many voices offering their condolences online, and the grief in those messages is raw and unmistakable — the grief of young people who weren’t supposed to be saying goodbye yet.
It’s that quality — the sheer breadth of those who loved him — that stands out in everything said and written about Michael in the days since his passing. Caoimhe’s partner David, aunts and uncles, grand aunts and grand uncles, cousins, work colleagues, and neighbours near and far have all come forward to share their sadness. A wide circle of friends — the kind a person builds through warmth, loyalty, and the simple gift of good company — are mourning alongside the family. That circle tells its own story.
The Beara Peninsula has always been a place where community is more than just a word. It’s in the way people show up. It’s in the quiet acts of kindness that don’t get announced. And in the days since Michael’s passing, that spirit has been very much alive in Castletownbere, where a grieving family is being held by the town that helped raise him.
This Cork death notice has touched far more hearts than its few lines could ever contain. Michael Donegan was clearly someone who made people feel something — something warm, something lasting.
Funeral Arrangements
Michael reposed at his family home in Derrymihan West, Castletownbere on Thursday, 4th June, from 2pm to 5pm and again from 6pm to 8pm. Attendance was strictly by bus only, with buses departing from the East End of the Pier near the Harbour Offices Building in Castletownbere. Parking was available at the West End of the pier.
His Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, 6th June 2026, at 12 midday in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Castletownbere. The funeral cortège will leave the family home at approximately 11.30am. Burial will take place afterwards in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Droum. A link to the online livestream of the Mass is available on the death notice page for those unable to attend.
The Donegan family, the O’Neill family, and every person who called Michael a friend — they’re all carrying something heavy right now. This Castletownbere obituary cannot lighten that weight. But it can say plainly what so many feel: that Michael Donegan mattered, that his life was one of real and genuine value, and that he will be missed — every single day — by the people lucky enough to have known him. May Michael rest in eternal peace.
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Date of Death:
Monday 1st June 2026
Source Link:
Original Death Notice Source: RIP.ie