In The News

Comedy legend Frank Carson to be laid to rest in home city

Comedy legend Frank Carson to be laid to rest in home city

COMEDY legend Frank Carson will be laid to rest in his home city of Belfast this Saturday (March 3). 

Members of the public will have the opportunity to pay their last respects ahead of the funeral as the funnyman’s remains will be reposing for two days at a funeral home in the city.

Mr Carson, who was 85, passed away at his home in Blackpool on February 22 after battling stomach cancer.

The comedian had asked that his Funeral be held in St. Patrick’s Church in Belfast’s Donegall Street, where he had once been a choirboy and where he and his wife Ruth were married. They had renewed their wedding vows there in 2010 to celebrate their 60th. wedding anniversary.

Following the service Mr. Carson will be laid to rest in Milltown Cemetery. For full details of the funeral, see below.

Fans will be able to pay theirs respects on Thursday (March 1) and Friday (March 2) as Mr. Carson’s remains will be reposing in O’Kane’s Funeral Home in Belfast’s Donegall Street between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Hundreds of mouners paid their last respects when the remains reposed at St. Kentigern’s Church in Blackpool over the weekend.

In Belfast, hundreds of fans have already signed a book of condolence at the City Hall.

Meanwhile, tributes to Mr. Carson have been paid from across the entertainment world.

The Belfastman was a comic legend who had been entertaining audiences for over 50 years.

He was born into a family of Italian descent and grew up in an area of North Belfast which was known as Little Italy.

After working as a plasterer and an electrician, Mr. Carson joined the Parachute Regiment in the 1950s and saw service in the Middle East. But his talent as a comedian was always in the background and after his army service he began to concentrate on entertainment.

His breakthrough came after winning the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks. This was followed by a spot on the hit show of the 1970s The Comedians in which he appeared along with the cream of the country’s comic talent.

With his catchphrases That’s a cracker and It’s the way I tell ’em, Mr. Carson was loved by audiences across the country. For many people in Ireland he was not only a much-loved funnyman but was also regarded, during the Troubles, as an unofficial ambassador for the country at a time when the negativity of the violence dominated thinking.

Mr. Carson always had time in his busy schedule to help charities with fund-raising efforts. His tireless work in this area was recognised by Pope John Paul II in 1987 when he made the comedian a Knight of St. Gregory, the Catholic Church’s highest honour. 

He had been battling stomach cancer and passed away at his home in Blackpool surrounded by his family. In a statement the family said he had “set off for his final gig”. The statement continued: “He went peacefully at his home in Blackpool surrounded by his greatest fans — his extended family. We will be taking him home to Belfast to lay him to rest and celebrate his joyful life.

“It’s quieter down here now. God help them up there!”

View the Passedaway.com Notice for Mr. Frank Carson.

To see a Frank Carson performance, click here.

 

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