THE family of tragic Blackpool sea pensioner Thomas Kennedy will finally lay him to rest in Dublin tomorrow.
But seven months after the 81-year-old disappeared from his Dublin home his death still remains a mystery.
Mr Kennedy, who was formally identified in Blackpool last week after being missing from Ireland since last July, was described as a “lovely man” by his former parish priest.
His remains had lain in a mortuary for six months after his body was found in the sea off the British coast last August - three weeks after he had vanished from his home in Finglas.
“The mystery now is what happened,” Father Joe Connolly told The Irish Post. “He had just been in hospital when the incident occurred, he was there for about 20 days.
“A few of his brothers had aneurysms so it could have been something like that, but I have no idea,” he added in response to how Mr Kennedy's body ended up in the Irish Sea.
Describing Mr Kennedy as a "constant of the community” and a well-liked man in the area, he added: "He was a lovely man, a family man. He looked after his kids really well – you could not say anything bad him.
"He would never, ever raise his voice. He was always talking about the good in people, he’d never say a bad word.”
Fr Connolly was a parish priest in West Finglas - the Kennedy family’s parish - for many years and was well acquainted with Mr Kennedy.
He is now based in Donabate parish and will lead tomorrow's funeral cortege at the invite of the Kennedy family.
While the body of Mr Kennedy - a father-of-three and grandfather-of-nine - was identified last week, his remains had been discovered in the sea at Blackpool last August.
Unaware of this, his frantic family continued to search for him in Ireland until a joint police and garda investigation involving DNA samples eventually lead to his identification.
“At least this has given the family closure,” Fr Connolly said.
Mr Kennedy leaves behind a heartbroken family – including his wife Fran, sons Vincent, Paul and Bernard, and nine grandchildren, as well as a large extended family.
His Funeral Mass will take place at the Church of the Annunciation, Finglas West, tomorrow morning (Friday 20th) at 10am, before removal to Glasnevin Crematorium.
An inquest will take place in Blackpool on May 7, and will look to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding his death.
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