Fiancee of Kevin Sheehy pays emotional tribute at late boxer’s funeral in Limerick

“THE thought of going through life without you is unbearable, and I don’t know how I am going to do it. We had so much planned for us and our baby girl, and I know how excited you were to become a Daddy.”

The words of Kevin Sheehy’s devastated fiancèe Emma at the champion boxer’s funeral Mass in Southill this Saturday morning.

In a heart-rending open letter, delivered by her mother Trisha Colbert to the congregation, Emma added: "There are no words in the world to describe the feeling I feel right now. The love I have for you is unbreakable and you will always be my whole world.”

She described 20-year-old Kevin, pictured, as “the most positive person ever”.

“You were determined to not only be the best partner you could be, but also the best daddy to our daughter. Kev, please give me the strength I need, because I don’t want to be in this world without you,” the letter added.

It was standing room only at Holy Family Church in Southill as Limerick paid its last respects to John Carew Park man Kevin, who was killed in a hit-and-run attack in the Hyde Road in the early hours of last Monday morning.

There was a sizeable presence of people from the boxing world, including members of his own beloved St Francis’s Club – their recognisable blue flag draping Kevin’s coffin, with a floral tribute reading “Our Champion”. Another tribute affectionately described the soon-to-be-father as a “shaper”.

Boxer Michael Carruth was there, as was the former president of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association Pat Ryan, and its chief executive Fergal Carruth.

Fr Tom Carroll, who was Parish Priest for the Holy Family Church for nine years, led the Mass. He was joined by former Southill PP Fr Pat Hogan, now in Moyross, as well as current parish priest Fr Joe Hayes, Fr John Walshe, and Fr Pat O’Sullivan.

At the start of the Mass, a picture of Kevin in the ring was placed atop his coffin, and later, a number of gifts symbolising a life tragically cut short were brought up by his devastated relatives.

They included his boxing pads to show his speed in the ring, his favourite chocolate bar, a Reese, a cap for those “rare occasions he had a bad hair day,” and naturally enough, a comb and gel.

The last medal he won in Hull, England, a heavyweight boxing title, was also brought up, as was a framed list of his achievements, and a banner which came to him at every game, declaring him to be “number one”.

Kevin’s sister-in-law Robyn brought a picture of his girlfriend Emma, while his three cousins Thomas, Jamie and Dylan proudly carried a large poster bearing the image of a “beautiful, kind-hearted, strong brother” with the slogan “Keep swinging Kev”.

Fr Carroll said Kevin – who already had a number of titles to his name was “destined to join the pantheon of Limerick sporting heroes”.

“Limerick and its environs has been enveloped in a cloud of sadness, sorrow and grief since the brutal death of Kevin Sheehy. Day has turned into night for his family, relatives and a large circle of friends who knew him and shared  in his dream of future glory and success,” he told the requiem Mass.

“Our hearts  go out to his immediate family as they try to deal with this unbearable sorrow. There are no words that describe the depth of your pain. All we can do is standby you in your grief and sorrow. But all is not lost our memory comes to help us. Murder of an innocent cannot rob us of this precious faculty. Kevin will live on in the memory of his family forever, a memory that will inspire you and give you courage to face the future,” he added.

Following the Mass, St Francis Boxing Club formed a guard of honour before mourners followed his remains to Mount St Oliver Cemetery.

There, he was laid to rest.

Kevin is deeply regretted his heartbroken mother Tracey, father Kevin and his partner Tina, sisters Simone and Cassidy, brother Jamie, fiancèe Emma and their beautiful baby girl, uncles Tom, Patrick and Jonathan, aunts Rose, Miriam, Jennifer, Aine and Jackie, grandparents John and Dolores, cousins, niece, nephew, other relatives, friends and his boxing family.

May he rest in peace.

For more pictures and words from the funeral, see Monday’s Limerick Leader