Funeral of Steven Kavanagh to take place this Friday

THE funeral of LIT student Steven Kavanagh will take place this coming Friday.

The body of the 21-year-old, who was from Clonlara was recovered from the river Shannon near Ardnacrusha on Monday afternoon - 19 days after he was last seen following a night out in the city.

Up until the discovery of Steven’s body, extensive land and water searches had been conducted near where he was last seen in the early hours of Match 6, last.

Sergeant Michela Moloney, who coordinated the search operation, says Steven’s family are grateful to the hundreds of people from across the country who helped look for him since his disappearance.

“Naturally enough, they are a little bit upset but they knew that this day was going to come at some stage. There is a little bit of relief as well the fact that Steven has come back to them and that Steven was recovered,” she told Live 95FM.

Hundreds of people have paid tribute to Steven through social media sites and the president of LIT, Dr Maria Hinfelaar says the thoughts of everyone at the institute are with his family. “We are all deeply saddened by his tragic passing. In his role as the LIT Students Union Vice President Steven left an indelible mark on this institute and will be remembered with great fondness,” she said.

Steven’s remains will be removed from McMahons funeral home, Blackwater at 8pm tomorrow to St Senan’s Church, Clonlara where his funeral mass will take place at 11am on Friday.

Steven, who was vice president of the LIT Student’s Union, is survived by his parents John and Margaret, his brother Ian and his sister Ian.

To contact the Samaritans, freephone 116 123.