Shannon John Keane

Eulogy by Shannon’s mother Leonie Bourke, presented on December 4th 2020

Shannon was much loved by many people as shown by the many calls, messages and facebook posts when he was ill and when he died. Throughout his illness, fundraisers were done and recently his good friend Lisa organised artists and loved ones to paint a picture each of Shannon with incredible results. He received blessings and prayers from friends and family all over the world, even people he had never met- we would like to thank those international friends and family, from Ireland, from England, from Tonga- he and Stephanie even received bracelets blessed by the Dali Lama. He was touched by all the support and love shown to him and Steph throughout the last 18 months. I would like to talk more about him now. For the past 33 years and 9 months, I have been privileged to be the mother of Shannon John Keane. Right from when I found out I was pregnant with him, both his father Jack and myself couldn’t wait to meet our new baby. When he was born the nurses wanted to put him with the other babies to sleep so I could have a rest- I said no, as I wanted him by my side at all times, and in many ways he has been with me ever since. He is with me now. I have had the pleasure of watching Shannon grow from the shy, young person he was into the caring, sensitive, funny, creative, supportive friend to all, mentor, persistent, man that he became. He always looked out for others, made sure people felt included, and reached out to those who needed support. It was not easy becoming this person as he had his own struggles to work on, but he knew the type of person that he wanted to be and actively sought help when he needed it. It was this lived experience that made him the person that many people took guidance from in their own lives. In fact, the most common phrase I have heard about Shannon in the last few days has been ‘what would Shannon do?’ It is a way that I’m going to continue living my life, thinking about his response and acting accordingly. Even though I am the mother and he was the child, I learnt so much from him about life and how to navigate it.