McAleese (39), who was married with a young family of two, was a cousin of Dr Martin McAleese, husband of the President of Ireland Mary McAleese.
In a statement on Friday, the management and staff of Central Laundries and Spring Grove Services expressed their deepest sympathies to Mr McAleese's wife Anne Marie and family. It continued:
“Brendan was managing director of Central Laundries, had worked for the company for over 16 years and had been instrumental in the growth and development of a most successful business in Northern Ireland. He was highly regarded and popular with his colleagues and staff and will be sadly missed.”
Central Laundries was established in 1976 and was acquired by Spring Grove Services in 2005. It provides modern washing and garment processing equipment and has some 85 employees.
