The remains of Irishman Michael Ryan, who tragically died in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash earlier this year, will be returned to Ireland this week.
It was today confirmed that his family had been notified in recent weeks that his remains had been positively identified from the wreckage using DNA testing.
Engineer Michael (Micheal) Ryan, from Lahinch in Clare, was among the 149 passengers on board the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 that crashed on March 10.
The flight which was en route to Nairobi from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa went down minutes after taking off.
The father of two, who lived in Cork, died just two weeks before his 40th birthday.
A post on the Ennistymon Parish Facebook page confirmed that Ryan’s remains are due to arrive in Dublin aiport on Tuesday morning.
His body will then be laid to rest in New Cemetery in Ennistymon, Lahinch in what will be a totally private burial ceremony.
Following his heartbreaking passing, Mr Ryan’s mother Christine remembered him as an “enthusiastic” person who loved helping others.
She said: “He was a very enthusiastic person, he had a great vision, he believed in engineering, putting people first and he was involved in an awful lot of different projects worldwide, flood relief, landslides, Ebola.
“He had been in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and a lot of African countries. He felt he made a difference.
“He just got there and he did it and had great enthusiasm with regards to work.”
“He just loved West Clare as well, he loved Lahinch, he loved life and living. He had such enthusiasm for anything he set his mind to, whether it was work or family.
“He was always a visionary, he wanted to help others, he loved people, he would light up a room when he came into it. People loved him and he had a way with people.
Mr Ryan was posthumously appointed chief engineer of the UN World Food Programme following the crash.
