FRIENDS of murdered chef Shaun Brady will gather in his Kansas City restaurant on Sunday morning to remember their pal.
A memorial fund has been set up for the wife and two young children of the Irishman who was shot dead outside his restaurant in Missouri on Wednesday afternoon.
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Mr Brady was a native of Nenagh, Co Tipperary and co owned Brady’s KC restaurant in the Brookside area of Kansas City.
Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with his killing.
Mr Brady was bringing a refuse bag to a bin when noticed that young men were stealing a car.
An interaction occurred between the 44-year-old and the young people.
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Shaun was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Shaun was well known and respected in Kansas City both for his culinary skills and his generosity of spirit.
He frequently appeared on local television doing cookery demonstrations and played a huge part in the Kansas City Irish Fest which is scheduled for this weekend.
A traditional Irish breakfast which was due to take place on Sunday has been cancelled to allow friends and loved ones of Shaun to gather and remember him.
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The organisers of Kansas City Irish Fest say that Shaun had a “deep pride in his culture and a contagious enthusiasm for celebration.”
They added: “The light he brought to our Irish community will endure through those touched by his talent, spirit, and joy for life.”
Mr Brady is survived by his wife Kate, their two young children Seamus, 12, and Mary, 10, and his family members in Nenagh.
Kate, a native of Wichita in Missouri met Shaun while on holiday in Ireland and the family lived in Overland Park in Kansas City.
Shaun and Kate married in 2005 and settled in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Kansas City, Missouri.
They have appealed to both American and Irish people to make a donation to a memorial fund set up in his honour.
Organisers said: “By donating to the Shaun Brady Memorial Fund, you can ensure lasting support for Shaun’s family, including his beloved wife and two young children, helping them feel the comfort and security of his legacy for years to come.
“We invite you to contribute $45—the ticket price of Shaun’s cherished Kansas City Irish Irish Fest Breakfast shared with friends, though any amount will mean the world to those who loved him and to the Kansas City Irish community that he brought together with his remarkable spirit.
“All proceeds will go directly to a trust fund to support Shaun’s family.”
PALS HEARTBROKEN
Meanwhile, Mary Kate Gliedt, Executive Director of the Kansas City Irish Centre, said that they were “heartbroken” at the news of the death of their “stalwart supporter and true friend” Shaun.
“His restaurant Brady’s was an extension of himself — warm, open and welcoming to everyone.
"His excellent creations in the kitchen were no match for his innate hospitality and generosity.”
Ms Gliedt said that Shaun never declined to help when they contacted him for assistance.
She said: “He was a frequent contributor to Irish weddings, wakes, funerals and parties at the Irish centre, and always made the time to serve the community.
"Our thoughts, prayers and love are with Shaun, his wife and children, his extended family, the team at Brady’s, and all who were lucky enough to know Shaun.
"We at the centre, and the Kansas City community as a whole, will miss him terribly.”
GREAT IRISHMAN
The Irish community in Kansas has been left “so cut up” over Shaun's death.
Former footballer and businessman Niall Quinn recalled a visit he had in Brady’s KC.
Quinn told The Irish Times that Shaun was “everything great that an Irishman abroad could be”.
He said: “Warm, funny, caring and so proud of Nenagh.
"He had a picture of the original family home place on the wall and was so proud of it.
"This is such awful news to hear and hard to believe.”
Mayor of Kansas City, Quinton Lucas, took to social media to share his condolences.
He said: “Like many in our community, I am heartbroken to learn of the death of Shaun Brady.
“I have met him, laughed with him, heard just a bit of his and his family’s story, and was inspired by the business and the community he was building in Kansas City.
“I grieve for and express my sincerest condolences to his family and all who knew him,” he wrote in a post before acknowledging the spectre of crime and gun violence.
“More distress comes in knowing how he died – due to violence arising once more in our community.”
Donations to the Shaun Brady Memorial Fund can be made here.
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