“Words at times like this fail us. They are shallow and incapable of expressing the depth of sadness and loss. I would just like to assure Elizabeth and John’s family and his friends that we are with you in these almost unbearable times.”
He had won a county boxing championship two weeks ago and members of his Olympic Boxing Club formed a guard of honour as his coffin was brought to the Church of the Resurrection in Ballinfoyle for his funeral in a white carriage with four white horses.
Sympathy was expressed to his parents Elizabeth and John and his siblings Kathleen, Aoife, Martin, Kelly, Damien, Julianne and Thomas. One of his boxing coaches, Mike Mongan, said that he was known as “a gentle giant” who trained hard and had a promising boxing career, having joined the Olympic Boxing Club when he was ten. His boxing gloves and boots and club jacket were among the items brought to the altar in the packed church where hundreds of mourners were told by Fr Kevin Blade, who knew the teenager since he was a baby, that the deaths had caused widespread grief throughout the country. “This church has seen many sad, tragic funerals, but few have been as profoundly sad and sorrowful as the funerals of two young parishioners and the tragic death of three young people. It has shocked all of Galway, indeed all of the country,” said Fr Blade. The horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of John Keenan arrives for his funeral at the Church of the Resurrection. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA He said that John had made a huge impact in his short life. “We all knew John was a unique and extraordinary young lad, full of life and vitality. He was gentle in his relationships with others, gifted with a good sense of humour and attentive to the needs of others.” Fr Blade said he had spent time with the family on Monday and John’s mother Elizabeth was keen to thank his national school St Francis’ in Tirellan and Moneenageisha secondary school for all they did for him. Dozens of mourners wore blue T-shirts with John’s photograph, while others carried large photographs of him and his friend and boxing colleague Christy Stokes. Traffic in Galway came to a standstill as the horse-drawn carriage made its way across the Quincentenary Bridge over the river Corrib where the three teenagers died, and John Keenan Sammon was laid to rest at Rahoon Cemetery. His friend Christy Stokes will also be buried there after his funeral mass at the Church of the Resurrection in Ballinfoyle on Thursday. The third victim of the tragedy, Wojciech Panek from Graiguenamanagh in Kilkenny, will be cremated on Friday.
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