A GRIEVING woman is holding a charity event in memory of her brother who tragically died at the age of just 44.

Caroline Darrah is organising the fundraiser in aid of Ardgowan Hospice and it will take place in the Hibs Club in Port Glasgow on 11 April.

Her brother, postman Stephen Henry became ill after finishing his rounds last July and suddenly collapsed and died outside his home.

The family say they are fulfilling his last wishes to raise money for the hospice.

Caroline, 43, who is the manager at Harbour Barbers, said: “He had a Celtic top and he said before he died he wanted to have a charity do and auction it for charity and help the hospice.

“It’s going to be a fun night with young Irish dancers, my cousin’s band Durty Mac and hot food.

“Stephen was a member of the Hibs. He was the first junior member there when he was 16.

“It will be a fitting tribute to him and I hope to raise £5,000.” Stephen’s parents — George, 64, and Ellen, 65, of Mid Avenue — are still trying to come to terms with their loss and Christmas was a difficult time for them and all the family.

Caroline said: “I stayed with them on Christmas Eve and my sister Lyndsay came up from Newcastle and we went to the cemetery on Christmas morning.

“The family all came to me on New Year’s Day and there was an awkward silence because we knew he wasn’t there.” Caroline says relatives have been rallying round to support her parents during the last few months and her grandchildren, little five-month-old Lucas and two-year-old Anna, keep them busy.

But their pain over Stephen’s death has been made worse by the fact they will never know how their loved one died.

A post-mortem examination came back unascertained and further tests failed to shed any light on what happened.

Caroline suspects that she knows what happened to her brother.

She said: “I think it was due to a bang to the head the week before.

“He had a fall and had been off his food all that week.

“Then he went to hospital that morning and there was too long a wait at casualty and he went back to work.

“I told the doctors about the fall but nothing showed up.

“They said they checked his organs and his heart but it was unascertained.” Tickets for the charity night in Stephen’s memory cost £10 and they are available from the Harbour Barbers in Cathcart Street.

Caroline is also looking for raffle prizes and auction items, which can be handed into the shop.