24-year-old Wicklow man PJ Kearney died in Brisbane last Friday after falling from the balcony of the Beach House Bar and Grill in Garden City.

The Irish community in Brisbane will hold a special fundraiser in the Queensland Irish Club on March 26 in a bid to help send the remains of tragic fall victim PJ Kearney back to his family in Wicklow.

The 24-year-old Arklow man passed away in a Brisbane Hospital on Friday, succumbing to head injuries he’d suffered when falling three meters from the balcony of a city hotel.

Tragically PJ, a kitchen fitter with an address in Robertson, died exactly two years to the day after arriving in Australia.

Staff from the local Irish Support Association (IASAQ) were with PJ by his bedside at the end while doctors turned off life support machines and held the phone to his ear as his mother Martina spoke her final words to her son.

The local community will now do their best to raise funds to send PJ’s body back to his mother – a process that usually costs somewhere in the region of $15,000.

A raffle was held to help raise funds in Willawong last Sunday as part of the Irish Festival celebrations in Brisbane, but the main fundraising event will happen from 7.30pm on March 26 at the Queensland Irish Club.

For tickets, which will cost $15, contact Rita Stott on 0432 087 328 or to donate log on the Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland website.