The 20-year-old Tuam native died following a road accident involving two vehicles in Limerick.<\/p>\n
The fatal collision occurred at around 2am on the N20 in the Bruree area of Limerick. The driver of the other vehicle. a male in his 20s, was conveyed to University Hospital Limerick for the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n
Mr Kavanagh had been part of Enda Bolger\u2019s yard in Limerick for the past two years, having also rode for trainer David Loughnane in the UK.<\/p>\n
Paying tribute to Mr Kavanagh on social media, Mr Loughnane expressed his shock and sadness at the young jockey\u2019s untimely passing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve struggled to find the words to write this post,\u201d he said. \u201cPaul was one of the nicest lads I\u2019ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, with an infectious smile that would light up every room he walked into.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world would be a much happier place with more Paul Kavanaghs in it. Such a credit to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Kavanagh\u2019s death notice states that he was the beloved grandson of the late Teresa Kavanagh and Mark and Bernie Carr.<\/p>\n
He will be forever loved and missed by his heartbroken parents Kevin and Alison, siblings Grace and Ryan, as well as his cherished grandad Martin and extended family, friends and racing colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis eyes carried a light that no darkness could dim,\u201d the noticed added.<\/p>\n
Jockeys riding at Leopardstown, Limerick and Down Royal all wore black armbands on St Stephen\u2019s Day in his memory.<\/p>\n
Mr Kavanagh was also past pupil of St Jarlath\u2019s College in Tuam and St Colman\u2019s National School in Corofin and has been fondly remembered by many in both school communities.<\/p>\n
In a statement on social media, St Jarlath\u2019s College paid tribute to their past pupil saying, \u201cPaul was a dear member of our school community and will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have fond memories of Paul from his time in the college and were delighted to see him following his dream of being a jockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our sincerest condolences to his parents, Kevin and Alison, his brother Ryan and his sister Grace, his extended family, neighbours and wide circle of friends at this most difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once a keen hurling player with Sylane Hurling Club, he was remembered by his former team as a valued teammate and friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll at Sylane Hurling Club were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Paul,\u201d they stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul played hurling with our club before going on to pursue his career as a full-time jockey, a journey he followed with the same dedication and determination he showed on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul was a valued teammate and friend, and he will be fondly remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing, coaching and playing alongside him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further condolences on rip.ie stated that he was a wonderful friend who was always kind and polite.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur sincerest sympathies to Paul\u2019s family and friends and to Enda Bolger and team on the dreadfully sad loss of Paul,\u201d another added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch a gorgeous young guy, with a beautiful smile and a very promising career, taken far too soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay you all find strength in the coming days [and] months ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funeral details for Mr Kavanagh are yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
Investigating garda\u00ed are appealing for anyone who witnessed the fatal collision, or who had been travelling N20 in the Bruree area of Limerick between 1:40am and 2:15am on December 24, to contact them.<\/p>\n
Garda\u00ed can be contacted at the Newcastle West Garda Station on 069 20650, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 20-year-old Tuam native died following a road accident involving two vehicles in Limerick. The fatal collision occurred…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,554,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-216683","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-joseph-murray","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}