WATCH: Limerick 'rising star' Kevin Sheehy said he was 'strong enough' for Olympic dream

THE HEAD coach of the “rising star” Limerick boxer who was killed in a hit-and-run has paid tribute to the athlete who was on a journey to Olympic success. 

Ken Moore, who coached Kevin Sheehy to four All-Ireland titles at St Francis boxing club, said that the father-to-be had been looking forward to the birth of his first child in a number of weeks. 

Kevin, 20, of John Carew Park, was fatally injured when he was knocked down by an English-registered black Mitsubishi SUV in the early hours of Monday morning on Hyde Road. 

It’s understood he had been socialising with friends in the area. 

Following the seizure of the abandoned vehicle in the northside, gardai arrested a teenager and a man in his early 20s, and have since upgraded the probe to a murder investigation. They are being detained at Midlands garda station. 

Mr Moore said that what set Kevin apart from the rest of the boxers in the game was “his dedication and his belief that he was going to do this”. 

One of the last conversations the two had was about qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. His coach said that Kevin had told him: “I am good enough, I am strong enough, why the hell not?”

He said that after Kevin won the Hull Box Cup last week, he spoke about his plans for his first child—a baby girl—in five weeks. 

“We were in Hull last week. That was all the chat—the girl coming on in five weeks’ time, a baby girl. He was so looking forward to that. He was putting plans together, as we all do with our first child. ‘I am going to do this, I am going to do that.’ He would have been a fantastic father. He really would. But, here we are, he’s never going to get that chance,” he told The Leader. 

In a heartfelt plea, Ken said that young men should be able to socialise “and come home safely”.

“I just hope they know what they’re after taking. This was a young boy with a huge future who had worked so hard his whole life to stay on the good side of the tracks, you know? Whoever did it, they’re not just after robbing Kevin’s family, whoever are obviously very devastated, [they have robbed] Limerick and the world a really good guy.”

Gardaí continue to appeal for anyone with information on the incident, particularly anyone in the area around the time of the collision, who may have dash cam footage, to contact them at Roxboro Road Garda Station on 061 214 340, the Garda confidential line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.