Kieran was born in Clonmel Co Tipperary on the 29th
December 1950 -
He was a very bonny baby the first born of five children to Mai
and Terry Coyne. And greatly loved and spoilt by all the family
especially parents and grandparents.
Kieran spent most of his childhood in Ireland –it was a lovely
childhood, full of adventure, fun and freedom.
Dad was in the army so we moved around a bit when we
were young. We were living in a place called Loughmore in Co
Tipperary - and one of the memories I recall, was when Kieran
was about 6 years old, Dad had Kieran sitting on his knee in
the drivers seat of his jeep, with Kieran steering the car. Kieran
obviously thought he was a very confident driver after that and a
few days later, my two cousins, Declan and myself were sitting
in Dad's jeep with Kieran in the Driving seat when he decided
to take us all for a little drive, he took the hand break off and
we starting rolling down the hill outside our house. We thought
it was great fun but I remember Dad and Mum chasing after us
until the car slowly stopped at the bottom of the hill
Another occasion Kieran decided to make a cart out of an old
suitcase and put Dec and myself in it. Kieran was pretending to
be a horse and tried to push us both up the hill and he ended up
breaking his thumb
Kieran loved playing cowboys and Indians with Dec and myself.
He was always “ the Lone Ranger” and Dec was “Tonto”, we
were never inside, just out playing every day
Another memory is when we lived with our grandparents, while
Dad was over in England . We had a mile and half journey into
School everyday. The three of us would set off on our journey
to school, with our packed lunch that Mum had made for us.
About half way along the journey Kieran and Dec would sit
on the wall - with a mischievous look on their faces, take out their packed lunch, start eating it – they would then give me a
little wave goodbye and head off back home, and Kieran would
announce “Ma the school gates were locked and we couldn't get
in”. Mum would believe them and they would be off out playing
their cowboys and Indians in the woods. I can tell you that went
on for quite a while until the local priest came calling, asking
Mum why Kieran and Dec weren't at school
So many great stories of Kieran as a child. Kieran was great fun
and Dec and I always looked up to our big brother.
When Kieran was 11years old we moved to England which
was a massive culture shock for all of us especially Kieran as
he was at that age where he would be going on to secondary
school. Also after the freedom in Ireland it was hard to be so
restricted. But Kieran made lots of friends over the years and
was very popular. Kieran liked nothing better than to party with
his friends and family, especially between the ages of 15 to 18
years. He was always great fun! And always had either Elvis
or The Rolling Stones playing on the stereo (his favourite pop
stars)
He loved football and a got a team together when he was
around 15 with Dec and his friends - his favourite team was
Tottenham
When Kieran reached the age of 18 there were changes
appearing in his personality. He went from a very outgoing
young man to someone who started withdrawing from his
friends. He stayed in and didn't want to socialise. Kieran was
eventually diagnosed with mental health problems and also
suffered from agoraphobia.
Kieran accepted his illness and seemed to be happy once he
had Mum and Dad there with him - and really spent the next
40 years, just really socialising with his family and not really leaving the house. His hobbies were a weekly bet on the horses and also Tottenham.
Kieran adored his Mother and when Mum passed away recently,
even though Kieran didn't show it, I know he was heartbroken.
Kieran was a lovely man (a gentleman) who didn't have a bad
bone in his body - just a beautiful person who I know is now
with his beloved "Ma" Dad and Dec in Heaven. I can imagine
Kieran and Dec playing a few pranks on Mum and Dad.
God Bless you Kieran and thank you for the privilege of being my brother.
Love you always Dee x
From Dee Coyne
30th May 2011