Over 100 people attend funeral of Antrim woman with no known relatives after appeal

The community came together to pay their respects, with some even volunteering to perform music.

Margaret Ellen 'Peggy' Murdoch died on 9 April peacefully in hospital at the age of 81.

After her passing, Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors in Lisburn made an appeal for "any relatives or anyone with any information about any living relatives" of Margaret to get in touch, as they had no contact details for her next of kin.

"We are aware that Margaret had a twin brother who has predeceased her but that is the only information we have available," it wrote on social media on 13 April.

"We do not know Ms Murdoch's personal circumstances but there is no doubt that anyone who is related to her or knows her in anyway, deserves an opportunity to mark her passing."

Two days later, Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors issued an update, announcing that a celebration of Margaret's life would take place on Tuesday, 21 April after a huge outpouring of support.

It wrote: "We recently made an appeal for relatives or those who knew Margaret in any way, to get in contact.

"This appeal has been shared by tens of thousands of people. We wish to thank everyone who has been in touch with us.

"Although we have gathered some additional information, we have sadly been unable to contact any surviving family members.

"With regret, we feel it is necessary to proceed with the funeral arrangements without any known relatives."

Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors added that there had been "many kind offers of financial support" for the service.

"To maintain transparency, we would like to let everyone know that a government agency is covering the cost of the cremation and Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors will absorb all other costs," it said.

"There have been volunteers willing to contribute to the funeral service and provide those services, free of charge, some of which we are now able to avail of. We intend to acknowledge these people later."

Quoting Coretta Scott King, the funeral directors stated: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."

This was before adding: "And so we would like to take this opportunity to again thank everyone most sincerely who have contacted Ronnie Thompson Funeral Directors with advice, support or information."

The funeral took place on Tuesday as planned. BBC News reports that over 100 people attended the service.

This comprised of neighbours and acquaintances of Margaret, as well as strangers, some of which volunteered to perform music.

One man in attendance told the BBC that he attended the funeral after learning of the appeal and after attempting to locate relatives of Ms Murdoch.

"I tried to find somebody related to her, but nobody was forthcoming," he said. "So, instead, I decided to come here today.

"In her final hour, I thought it was the least I could do."

Main image via Adobe Stock