Donations pour in for cancer charity after death of 'fantastic' teacher

Ian Brannagan was hailed as a “hero” by his wife, a “wonderful person” by a colleague and a “fantastic teacher” by a former pupil.

A maths teacher at Hawkley Hall High School, Mr Brannagan had previously worked at several other local schools including Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley.

He was diagnosed with lung and oesophageal cancer last summer and underwent gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.

But he died at home on Saturday morning, leaving his wife Lindsay Brannagan and their loved ones.

In a moving Facebook post, Mrs Brannagan said she had received “hundreds of beautiful and heartfelt messages”.

She was training for the Greater Manchester marathon to raise money for The Christie, where her husband was treated, and said donations had “gone through the roof”.

Mrs Brannagan said: “I wanted to say thank you to every single one of you for your kind donations and lovely words and thoughts. Reading your messages is really helping me and my boys get through this ridiculously difficult time. We might be isolated from our friends and family but we are certainly not alone. I have spent the entire day reading them all with a brew in one hand and a tissue in the other (good job I stockpiled-sorry).

“The truth is we are probably not going to be able to have the send off he deserves YET but I wanted to reassure all of you that we will have some sort of celebration of his life.”

She continued: “I am not ready to write my feelings about Ian on here yet as my heart is a little too broken but I am really not surprised at the response to him passing. He was my hero, my everything.”

Matt Klinck, headteacher at Hawkley Hall High School, announced Mr Brannagan’s death in an email to staff on Sunday.

He said: “As I am sure you will be aware, Ian had been fighting a serious illness for the majority of the academic year. He showed immense courage, calmness and positivity throughout.

“He regularly came into school to see his colleagues in maths and spoke to many other staff. At all times he was absolutely committed to returning to work and was desperate to support the students preparing for exams in any way he could.

“He truly loved teaching young people and passing on his experience and skills to others. He was a wonderful person who made a significant impact with the maths department and beyond in the time he has been a member of our community.

“Ian also had a long and distinguished career in several other local schools, especially at Fred Longworth. He was loved and respected by everyone in schools he came into contact with. He will be sorely missed by us all.”

Former pupils took to Facebook to pay tribute to Mr Brannagan, many of whom left his classroom many years ago.

Niall Miller, who is both a former pupil and his nephew, said: “Ian was a fantastic teacher, father, husband and friend. The sheer amount of positive comments and posts on here are a testament to that.

“Rest in peace Ian. Cancer really does suck.”

Emma Taylor said: “I’m in tears it surprised me. First high school form teacher. Shows how much someone means to you from long ago.”

More than £2,600 has been donated to Mrs Brannagan’s marathon fund-raising appeal for The Christie in honour of her husband.

To make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lindsay-brannagan3.

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