The late Con O'Shea Con O'Shea of Vicar Street, Kilkenny and formerly Listry, Beaufort, Co Kerry died hours before his beloved Kerry football took on Monaghan in the All-Ireland qualifier. He was 88. You can be sure that he was cheering them on from heaven as they won by a goal. He was one of the best known people in the city and county, as a sand and gravel man. Con was deeply involved in Gaelic games, and established a city Gaelic football club, Clan Na Gael, which won the senior championship and led in no small way the formation of O'Loughlin GAA Club. Con was a former president of the Kerry Association in Kilkenny, and representatives from the Kerry Association along with members of the former Clan Na Gael team formed a guard of honour at the removal of his remains on Tuesday. Paying tribute to Mr Shea, John Keane, president of the kerry Association in Kilkenny, said they broke the mould when the made Con O'Shea. "We will certainly never again see anyone like him. He has given us a host of memories and we will never forget the joy he felt when his granddaughter Orla O'Shea was crowned Rose of Tralee," his long time friend recalled . "He had been also delighted that the Kerry Association was her sponsor." Con came to Kilkenny in the mid-1940's and distinguished himself in the great flood of 1947 when his prowess as a boatman on the lakes of Killarney came to great use when many of the houses in the city centre were 12 feet under water. "Con was a legend - a Kerryman to his fingertips but fell in love with Kilkenny and anyone that meet him in Kilkenny fell in love with him," said minister John McGuinness, whose father had also been a friend and admirer of the Kerryman. He was a character larger than life who had strong associations with business in Kilkenny, family in Kilkenny and the Kilkenny beer festival and he will be sadly. My thoughts and prayers are with his family," Minister McGuinness said. The words of Fr Jim Murphy at Con's removal, that Kerry people in Kilkenny had lost their King were absolutely true reflected the loss felt by Kerry and kilkenny people alike, added Cllr. Sean O hArgain. "Con was the essence of Kerry but loved his adopted city also," His fellow Kerryman said. "Everywhere you met a Kerry person in Ireland and you said you lived in Kilkenny, the first question you were asked was 'Do you know Con?' He had infectious sense of humour and you never left his company without a smile on your face. He was immensely proud of his family an their achievements in business, sporting life and the arts in KIlkenny. It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to one of Kerry's greatest supporters and one of Kilkenny's greatest characters. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann go deo." Courtesy of the Kilkenny People 8th August 2008 Tweet

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