Smiles for Shane’s legacy

The family of murdered Limerick man Shane Geoghegan smile every time they think of the rugby player who was a victim of mistaken identity, his aunt has revealed.

Yesterday, a picture of the art installation of 20,000 clay figurines named A Pitch for Shane, was unveiled in Limerick’s City Hall as a permanent memorial.

His aunt, Margaret Walsh, who dreamed up the metaphorical pitch, told RTÉ radio’s Tubridy Show yesterday that thoughts of her nephew always make her family smile.

“You think of Shane and you smile at his legacy. If you felt in bad form a meeting with Shane would suddenly lift your mood.

“He took you as you were. He didn’t expect anything and he lived in the now. That is one of the consolations we have when we look back on Shane’s life. Automatically we smile when we think of Shane.”

Shane Geoghegan was walking home from a friend’s house in the early hours of Nov 9, 2008 when he was shot by hitman Barry Doyle, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.

Ms Walsh, said she found it almost impossible to believe that her nephew had been shot. “Nobody deserves to die in the way that Shane was gunned down… When it happened to him there was disbelief and shock and just sadness. it was just so, so sad.”

She said it was very difficult to live with the loss of his life and the life he should be living every day. “When you think of Shane you think of the potential and the sadness. He was 28. He lived a parallel life with my son. My son got married and is a year married last April and they are expecting their first baby and you are inclined to think of the life which hasn’t the potential and what should have been.”

She said A Pitch for Shane was the family’s way of bringing Shane’s character to the public