Funeral flotilla of Colonel Harry Rice's grandchild passes through Athlone

A funeral flotilla carrying the remains of Peter Williams, the grandchild of former Coosan resident Colonel Harry Rice, synonymous with charting the River Shannon navigation pathway, travelled from Lough Ree to Lough Derg on Friday morning.

At the request of the deceased, the Ballinasloe based Rothwell Funeral Directors carried the his remains from Portaneena on Friday morning, passing through the heart of Athlone, Meelick and Portumna, before culminating at Gortmore Harbour where his remains were brought to the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Terryglass, County Tipperary.

Originally from Coolbawn, County Tipperary, Peter Williams had donated his body to science following his death in November 2023. He was the son of Betty Rice and John Williams who hailed from Ladywell in Coosan, his late grandfather Colonel Harry Rice having a historic connection with the River Shannon.

A long term resident of Coosan Point Colonel Rice began a campaign to develop the River Shannon as a leading tourist attraction, his biggest undertaking being a survey of the entire river during which he found that the old Admiralty charts were not completely accurate in all cases. The results of the survey were published in the best seller 'Thanks for the Memory' which brought for the first time to the public the potential of the River Shannon. Colonel Rice continued to promote the positive attributes of the River Shannon in his regular Westmeath Independent column 'Coosan Comment' which he penned for almost 20 years. He died on May 8 1964.

Peter Williams was laid to rest in Terryglass cemetery following burial mass on Saturday afternoon.