Thousands turn out for Higgins funeral

Thousands of people have turned out in Belfast to pay their respects to the late Alex Higgins, RTE report.

The 61-year-old snooker player will be laid to rest following a service at St. Anne's Cathedral.

Higgins's sisters Anne and Jean sat at the front of the cathedral along with his daughter Lauren, who read a poem, and son Jordan.

Ken Doherty and Jimmy White were among the pallbearers who carried the coffin of the troubled genius from his family home in Belfast.

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White recalled watching his friend play and traveling the world with him.

'”It angers me that he never listened to anyone, close friends or family but that was Alex, he was an individual, his own man.

“He was the Hurricane, I will miss him to the end.”

Dean of Belfast Houston McKelvey told mourners: “Alex at a very young age encountered two of the greatest temptations possible - fame and fortune.

“He found it difficult to cope with both. He was not the first to find this difficult and he certainly will not be the last.”

Other snooker stars, including Stephen Hendry and Willie Thorne, also attended the funeral.

Earlier, the funeral cortege traveled through Belfast city centre from the family home. It paused for a short time at his birthplace in the south of the city.

The 1972 and 1982 world snooker champion was found dead at his Belfast apartment last weekend.

He had been suffering from throat cancer for more than ten years.

 

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