Tributes have been paid to an Irish chef who was shot dead outside his restaurant in Kansas City yesterday.
It is believed that 44-year-old Shaun Brady was taking out rubbish when he saw people trying to break into a car. When the Tipperary man confronted them, he was shot.
Two teenagers have since been arrested in connection with his death.
Mr Brady was one of the organiser of Kansas City’s annual Irish Fest and was a much loved member of the local Irish community.
On Newstalk Breakfast, his friend and fellow organiser Erin Gabert said the news of his death had devastated them.
“He was a true friend to so many of us,” she said.
“He was a brilliant chef, he took so many of the traditional Irish cuisine and really created beautiful masterpieces out of it.
“He also had this incredible gift to take his talents and his skills and use them to bring the community together.”
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Ms Gabert described his restaurant as “truly a gathering space” for not just the Irish community in Kansas City, but people from all walks of life.
“It was a great space to come, you could go there and know you would know someone, you knew you were going to be welcomed,” she said.
“You knew you were going to get a huge hug from Shaun and as one of the organisers of the Irish Fest, I also knew he was going to come to me with some new idea he had.”
Ms Gabert said Kansas City has a “really strong Irish community” - with large numbers of both Irish immigrants and Irish Americans.
The city’s Irish Fest is attended by roughly 70,000 people every year and Mr Brady was considered an “integral part” of it.
Every year after the festival’s Mass, he hosted an Irish breakfast at his restaurant.
It begins today and Ms Gabert said not having him there will be difficult.
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“I can say pretty easily that we are all heartbroken,” she said.
“Shaun was our friend, he wasn’t just somebody we knew, he was our dear friend.
“And all of us have stories that we can share about Shaun.
“When news started coming out, it hadn’t really hit the media yet but our phones started ringing off the hook and text messages started coming through.”
This year there will be no Irish breakfast and instead those who knew Mr Brady will instead gather to have a drink in his memory.
A crowdfunder has also been launched to help raise money for his wife and two children.
Main image: Shaun Brady. Picture by: Brady & Fox.
