The tragic deaths of three teenagers in an accident at Menlo Pier last weekend has left “a city numbed speechless,” the priest celebrating the first of the funeral Masses said yesterday (Wednesday ), when hundreds of mourners gathered to bid farewell to 16-year-old John Keenan Sammon.
John was in the car with Christopher Stokes and Wojciech Panek when it entered the water early last Saturday morning.
John’s parents Elizabeth and John and his brothers and sisters, walked behind the horse-drawn funeral hearse and were comforted by extended family and friends.
Outside the Church of the Resurrection in Ballinfoyle, a guard of honour was formed by members of Olympic Boxing Club, the club he joined when he was ten years old and for which he won privincial titles as recently as last month.
Fr Kevin Blade spoke of the devastation in the parish at John Keenan Sammon’s death and of those of Christopher and Wojcieck.
“There are occasions in life when no words seem fitting, when we enter total sadness and desolation, when we are numbed speechless,” he said. adding that he knew John since he was a child and when he would come to the door of the parish house for sweets.
“He would ring my doorbell. I would open the door, and there was Baby John. He would stand there with his little hand held out opened. I would put some sweets in his hand and he would smile and say thanks.
“He was a big gentle child and, in his mother’s words, he was her pride and joy”
Mike Mongan, Head Coach at Olympic Boxing Club, said John was a talented, popular lad who had time for everybody and had a great sense of humour.
“He would drive me nuts as well”, he said, raising a laugh as he recounted how John went off for a glass of water during championship training one day.
“John was easy come, easy go and you had to keep the pressure on and the weight managed ahead of big fights. This day anyway, he went off to the kitchen for water and when I checked up on him, he had crumbs all over his mouth swearing black and blue he had just had a drink of water. Big John had wolfed half a packet of biscuits he found up in the press”.
Following the funeral mass, John was buried at Rahoon Cemetery.
The funeral of 17-year-old Christopher Stokes will take place in the same church this morning (Thursday ) and he will also be buried in Rahoon Cemetery.
He is survived by his parents Anthony and Kate, his brothers Michael, Tommy, Tony, and Martin, and his sisters Annalise, Nicole, Geraldine, Katlyn, and Lucy.
The third teenager involved in the tragedy, Wojciech Panek from Cois Na Bearu, Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny will be cremated on Friday. Mr Panek was understood to be studying a carpentry and woodwork course in the city and his death has greatly shocked the Kilkenny village.
He is survived by his parents Grzegoz and Katarzyna and siblings, Kamil and Viktoria.
