Patrick Kealy’s silver casket travelled in a Rolls Royce hearse adorned with the plate reading ‘Bad Bob, King of the Kealys’ in what one local described as the biggest funeral seen yet.
His silver casket travelled in a Rolls Royce hearse adorned with the plate reading ‘Bad Bob, King of the Kealys’ in what one local described as the biggest funeral seen yet.
The cortege, which also included Rolls Royce limos, made stops to allow old friends and relatives to make a toast to Patrick Kealy on his final journey.
His daughter Crystal posted a photo online with a Guinness at the hearse: “One last Guinness in Croke for my dada. Love you forever.”
A video billboard parked in the town square displayed photos of Kealy, including from his wedding day, enjoying a pint and hoisting up a beer keg.
Mourners with Patrick’s hearse
The morning of the funeral mass on Tuesday brought Rathkeale to a standstill as the cortege made its way to the cemetery thronged by mourners where white doves were released.
There was a chance for drinks afterwards laid on by the family at a nearby venue which again celebrated his life.
These included life-sized photographs of Patrick Kealy as if he was seated with the guests who had come to bid him farewell.
TVs on stands played news footage of him in 2018 when he attempted to get a pub licence to open a premises in Rathkeale.
One of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy
All week, people posted messages about him on social media which reflected his out-going nature.
The good-natured and happy farewells mirrored the scenes of his brother John’s funeral procession in 2022.
On the way from the UK to Rathkeale for burial, the cortege stopped at Portlaoise Prison to noisily mark a farewell to his friend John O’Donoghue who had been locked up there.
Among those at this week’s funeral in Rathkeale was Limerick gangland figure Anthony Kelly, a brother of former Limerick councillor, Michael Kelly.
Kelly hit the news in recent weeks after he and Kenneth Dundon, father of the infamous Dundon brothers, objected to a pub licence renewal in Limerick after being refused there.
Patrick Kealy’s brush with pub licensing laws didn’t go so well when his application failed amid objections from the gardaí.
Under cross-examination it was put to him he was the “patriarch” of the Kealy family, who were involved in a long-running feud with other Traveller families.
Some of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy
He disputed this in court and said a number of families had “shaken hands”, and there were no ongoing problems.
In 2002, Kealy bought a large site in Monasterevin, Co Kildare, which was converted into a caravan site which he referred to as a “come and go place”.
The area had been surfaced and a waste collection service set up, much to the annoyance of local residents who opposed the unauthorised development.
The same approach was also used by wealthy Traveller traders at Cottenham and Basildon in the UK.
Patrick Kealy passed away almost two weeks ago after being found in his car on the Main Street in Rathkeale.
