Well-known married father-of-three Kieran will be sadly missed
THE community of Horeswood was deeply united in grief when Kieran Whitty of Killesk, Campile, tragically lost his life in a motorbike accident in the village in the late hours of Saturday, September 19.
Kieran was the oldest of four siblings and would have celebrated his 39th birthday on Sunday, October 2.
Kieran grew up very happy in Nuke, Campile, and attended Ballyhack NS after spending a short period of schooling in Kilmihil, County Clare, where his father Philip worked ay Moneypoint Power Station, before moving back to Nuke and continuing his education in Ramsgrange Community School.
Kieran was a son of Philip and Mary (née Ryan of Dunganstown) and a brother to John, Deirdre and Philip. He met his wife Sonya almost 19 years ago and they had three beautiful children, Dylan (17), Emma (11) and Shane (5).
They celebrated their wedding in Horeswood Church on August 25, 2012, and the reception was held in the Brandon House Hotel.
Sonya is a daughter of Philip and Bridget White from Campile.
She has one sister Maggie and two brothers, Derek and Philip.
From an early age Kieran’s first job was washing cars for James Rowe in his garage in Campile, where he saved every penny he earned enough to buy his first car a silver Suzuki Swift.
When he turned 18, having completed his Leaving Cert, he began to work as a steel erector with his father, while one year later his brother John also joined them.
They worked all over Ireland and also in Europe at times. Kieran and John were very close in age with only 11 months between them, which meant they did everything together from playing sports to working and socialising.
John will always have fond memories of their times with each other.
In 2012 Kieran joined forces with his cousins PJ and Kevin in Mastiff Engineering where his expertise and commitment further enhanced the success of the company and with help from his wife Sonya who works in their office in Wellingtonbridge.
Kieran had a love for life and enjoyed every miniute of it with his childhood sweetheart Sonya and their three children. He was an extremely hard worker and at the weekends enjoyed spending time going to matches to watch his son Dylan play.
He also attended his daughter Emma’s Irish dancing Feis competitions and was present when Emma won an All Ireland dancing championship and obtained an All Ireland medal in 2014, while Shane was happy enough to help his Dad do some work out in the garage and head off in the van wherever he was going; it would never bother Shane so long as he didn’t leave him behind.
Kieran loved his weekly darts games with his loyal friends in the local pub on Friday nights and he was also a fan of rugby in recent years. A dog lover from an early age, he was soft-hearted at times when problems occurred with his dogs.
A motorbike fan for many years, Kieran’s first bike was a Suzuki GP100 known as ‘Guinea Pig’ to his friends, which he got great enjoyment from. He went on to build his first and only rally car with his good buddy Mark Halligan, a little red and white Vauxhall Nova which they competed in many rallies, winning lots of prizes and many a story was told about the motorbike.
Kieran’s funeral Mass was celebrated by Fr Gerard O’Leary, Mons Don Kenny and Fr Michael Colinder OSA from Good Counsel College. At the start of the mass Kieran’s uncle Mike introduced the gifts which all reflected upon Kieran’s life. His brothers John and Philip brought up his darts, a picture of him and his dart buddies and a picture of Kieran standing at his rally car. His sister Deirdre brought up his Mastiff Engineering helmet and jacket which reflected his hours of hard work. His son Dylan brought up a duck replica representing what his close friends knew him as.
Kieran’s brother-in-law Larry then reflected on Kieran’s life and spoke with great compassion and kindness.
The readings were recited by Kieran’s cousins John Byrne and Noeleen Whitty and the Prayers of the Faithful were read by Mark Halligan, Thomas Murphy, Thomas Kehoe, Mick Culleton and Lauren Kehoe.
Stephen Murphy sang the opening song Grace which was one of Kieran’s favourites and a selection of hymns during the Mass and at communion time he played a heart-rending song Toto Africa which Dylan had picked to be performed.
The song before Kieran’s final removal was The Lighthouse Family’s High which was also the song Sonya chose for their first dance on their wedding night as Kieran sang it to her too many times when they first met.
At the graveside ‘A Song for Ireland’ was played as it was a song he attempted to sing himself on many occasions.
Before the final blessing in the church Sonya’s sister Maggie thanked everyone who helped out over the days of the funeral and invited everyone to Hart’s and Dunphy’s public houses in Campile for light refreshments after the burial.
The family wish to thank everyone who attended and participated with the funeral Mass including principal Margaret Rossiter, the teachers and pupils of Horeswood NS, Good Counsel vice principal Aidan O’Brien, teachers and students from Good Counsel College, Campile United soccer club, Mastiff Engineering workmen, the motorcycle clubs and bike clubs who all attended the funeal and formed a guard of honour.
A family member said: ‘If the Whitty and White families have not mentioned other participants it is not that your attendance, help or generosity is not acknowledged. It is simply due to there being too many people to name, but we say thanks to you also. Please continue to keep all of Kieran’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this sad time.’
May Kieran rest in peace, he will never be forgotten.
His month’s mind Mass takes place on Friday, October 7, in Horeswood Parish Church at 7 p.m.