FAMILY and friends of murdered Limerick rugby player Shane Geoghegan gathered at Garryowen Rugby Club last night for a Mass to mark the first anniversary of his death.
Mr Geoghegan (28) was shot dead close to his home in Kilteragh, Dooradoyle, on November 9th last in a case of mistaken identity.
One of the biggest murder investigations in Limerick’s history led to the arrest of a 24-year-old Dublin man who has since been charged with the murder and is due to stand trial next year.
Mr Geoghegan’s murder led to a massive outpouring of grief and thousands of people signed books of condolence at City Hall in Limerick.
An online condolence page set up by the Limerick Leader newspaper in the days after the murder saw 12,000 people express their sympathy with the Geoghegan family. Among those at last night’s first anniversary Mass were many of Mr Geoghegan’s former work colleagues from Air Atlanta where he played an active part in the company’s annual children’s Christmas party.
“Shane was amazing with children and he used to love doing Santa at the company Christmas party, which just showed what type of guy he was,” said Eoghan Prendergast, honorary secretary of Garryowen RFC.
Last month saw the launch of the Shane Geoghegan Trust, which aims to provide children across Limerick with an alternative to criminal or anti-social behaviour by making a range of sports and activities accessible to them in their community.
“The trust, because it aims to help children, is so appropriate and will really honour Shane’s memory because he was such a good leader and this will be a good way of remembering the type of person he was,” added Mr Prendergast.
At the time of the launch his family stressed they wanted him to be remembered for the way he lived and not the manner in which he died.
“From the day we lost Shane, we’ve been fighting for his memory,” said a statement issued on behalf of his mother, Mary. “Fighting for his memory because of the danger that he may be remembered only by the manner of his dying. That would be another tragedy.”
Mr Geoghegan’s former teacher at the Crescent College Comprehensive in Limerick, Fr Jim Maher, said last night’s Mass, which was held at the clubhouse in Garryowen.
Mr Geoghegan’s former team mates from Garryowen’s thirds team, which he captained, were there along with his parents Tom and Mary, his brother Anthony and girlfriend Jenna Barry.