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Shane O’Brien, who tragically lost his life while training last week, got a warm and loving funeral in the Fermoy community where he grew up and lived with his parents and brothers<\/p>\n
The father of Shane O’Brien, the 16-year-old junior international cyclist who lost his life in a training crash last week, has paid a loving and moving tribute to him at his funeral mass in Fermoy, Co Cork, today.<\/p>\n
Eddie O’Brien said the funeral at a packed St Patrick’s Church in Fermoy on Monday morning was “true Shaney-style, a full house”.<\/p>\n
He added while “we shed a lot of tears this week; me, Mary, Liam and Aidan, today is about celebrating his life”. Eddie added he was glad to have his “wingman”, Aidan, beside him on the altar for support.<\/p>\n
While “last Tuesday changed our lives, and we can’t go back”, the community around the family had been of incredible support. Eddie told mourners that was a reflection of Shane’s nature and his place in that community, and in the cycling community.<\/p>\n
“Where do I start with this fella? He was just incredible,” Eddie told the packed church. “He was one of these guys… Even with his friends, he had such a nice bunch of friends and he always talked about you.<\/p>\n
“He had his cycling friends and he had his school friends. And, I don’t know how he managed it, but he seemed to connect them some way.<\/p>\n
“They are a great bunch, don’t ever change lads. And thanks for all the time you spent with him. You can judge a character by the company he keeps and Shane was certainly in good company.”<\/p>\n
The mourners were led by Eddie and Shane\u2019s mam Mary along with Shane’s brothers, Liam and Aidan, and grandparents Eddie and Anna. There was a strong representation from cycling clubs across the country, while Shane’s friends from St Colman\u2019s College Fermoy were also in the congregation.<\/p>\n
Though a heartbreaking occasion, there was time for humour as Eddie told some stories about Shane.<\/p>\n
Eddie said Shane was always very competitive. When he was a boy aged about 5 and Eddie was running a local 5km race, Shane insisted on entering the event with him.<\/p>\n
“We got about a kilometre-and-a-half in, and I knew he was struggling. I said to him ‘are you alright? and he was saying ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’. We went on another bit and he said: ‘I’m getting tired’. So, I said ‘do you want to go up on my shoulders?’ and he said ‘yeah'”.<\/p>\n
Eddie then continued the race, now carrying a passenger who was drinking all of his water and taking in his surroundings, looking into the fields, from his new vantage point.<\/p>\n
Shane declined repeated invitations get to down, as Eddie, starting to wilt, gently encouraged him to give the run another go.<\/p>\n
“About 500 metres before we got back to Fermoy, he had my water finished, and he said ‘you know, I think I’ll run the rest of the way’. And it was all downhill at this stage.”<\/p>\n
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