Tears for tragic Mikey, 15, ‘our very own Roy Keane’
TRAGIC teenager Michael ‘Mikey’ Leddy was dubbed ‘the Roy Keane of Meath’ by his teammates, his heartbreaking funeral Mass heard yesterday.
The 15-year-old soccer and GAA player died suddenly after a fall from a wall in Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote last week. He would have turned 16 next month.
Hundreds of mourners turned out yesterday at St Mary’s Church in Navan, Co. Meath, to pay tribute to the young man described as a ‘huge bundle of joy’.
Fr Louis Illah told them how Mikey’s parents, grandparents, friends, teammates and classmates are ‘all heartbroken over the passing of such a lovely and talented young man, so full of promise’.
‘He will be best remembered for his broad smile and his enthusiastic participation in many activities, most notably in the field of sports. Mikey made his mark in Gaelic football and soccer,’ said Fr Illah.
He added that many of Mikey’s teammates paid ‘glowing tributes’ to him, dubbing him the ‘Roy Keane of Co. Meath’.
Members of the teenager’s GAA club, Navan O’Mahonys, sported the team’s traditional blue and white colours to form a guard of honour as his coffin arrived at St Mary’s Church yesterday morning.
The red jerseys of Mikey’s soccer team, Johnstown FC, could also be seen dotted around the church as the ceremony got under way.
Fr Illah spoke warmly of the joy Mikey brought to everyone he knew, and how his passing has caused a lot of pain and sorrow amongst his family and also the wider community.
Mikey was a student at the local all-boys St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan, and the church where the funeral took place is where he made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
Fr Illah quoted from an article in the Meath Chronicle which reported that Mikey would have made a ‘big sporting impact in the future’. But he added that this was not to be, as his life ‘was cut short at such a young age’.
‘Mikey was renowned for his infectious presence, he was a huge bundle of joy,’ said Fr Illah, ‘He loved music, he loved being in the company of others. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. He touched the lives of so many.’
He is survived by his parents, Damien and Aisling as well as his brothers Corey, Jack and Daniel.
In the early hours of Monday last week, the teenager was left fighting for his life after a fall while on holiday in Lanzarote. It is understood Mikey fell around 4.5 metres. He is believed to have been returning home after a night out.
He suffered head injuries and was in a critical condition.
He succumbed to those injuries on Tuesday.
‘He loved life and lived it to the full’