Cian English, the Irish teenager who died in Australia last month, was a "fearless, enthusiastic and caring" young man who "oozed charisma and made everyone around him smile", his funeral service has heard.
Cian (19), originally from Bullock Park in Carlow town, died in the early hours of Saturday, May 23rd after falling from a fourth floor balcony at the View Pacific resort in Surfers Paradise on the Australian Gold Coast. The teenager fell to his death when he was allegedly being robbed at knife-point following an apartment party.
Tributes were paid to Cian at a funeral service on Saturday held in the town of Leighlinbrdige on the banks of the river Barrow in his native Co Carlow.
Cian's father, uncles and brother all spoke at the service which was held outdoors and attended by close friends and family. A separate funeral service was held last week in Brisbane where the family have been living since 2011.
Cian’s father Vincent recalled his son’s “cheeky smile and glint in his eye” and how he lived his life to the full. He remembered how when the family was last in Ireland in December 2019 for the funeral of Vincent’s father, Cian offered support and help to everyone around him.
Vincent also thanked the Irish and Australian governments for securing special permission for the family to travel back to Ireland during the pandemic to bury Cian’s remains.
“He’s up there with dad now, he’s looking after Cian for us,” said Vincent. “I want to live the rest of my life like Cian, to the full. I’m so proud of you and we love you.”
‘Pride and laughter’
Cian’s older brother Dylan promised to carry out his brother’s legacy, saying “everything I do now is for you”. “Our memories can never be erased, you’ll always be in my heart and my mind and you are my forever hero,” said Dylan.
Cian’s uncle Barry said the Irish teenager was “completely selfless” and had “a fearlessness, enthusiasm and confidence in his approach to life. We can’t speak of him without bursting with pride and laughter.”
People “gravitated towards” Cian and “his rapport with people aged 2-92 was effortless”, said Barry. “He oozed charisma and made everyone around him smile.”
Another uncle, Trevor, remembered Cian’s love of swimming, water sports, underwater fishing, walking barefoot everywhere, cracking jokes and playing pranks.
“I won’t say goodbye, just see you next time,” read Trevor from a short poem he’d written for his nephew. “I love you forever, our hero until the end of time.”
Cian had been living with his parents Siobhán and Vincent and brother Dylan in the suburb of Hawthorn in eastern Brisbane. The family left Ireland 15 years ago, first to the Caribbean where Vincent English worked for Digicel and then to Australia in 2011.
Three men - Jason Ryan Knowles (22), Hayden Paul Kratzmann (20) and Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas (18) - have been charged with Cian’s murder and are remanded in custody until August 4th.
Two teenage girls, aged 15 and 16, were subsequently charged with murder, armed robbery and two counts of deprivation of liberty. They cannot be named as both are minors.
