On this the 1st anniversary of Cian's sad passing, his parents Matthew & Josephine, brothers Niall & Odhrán and sister Tara wish to express heartfelt gratitude to all who sympathised with us on our bereavement.  

Our sincere thanks to all who sent Mass cards, messages of sympathy, letters, telephoned, expressed condolences online, travelled from abroad and long distances and donated so generously to Longford Palliative Care. We would like to thank our wonderful families, friends, neighbours, community, work colleagues, Dromard GAA and Longford Rugby Club for your support and to those who joined us online for Cian's Funeral Mass.

A special word of thanks to Fr. Pat Lennon & Fr. Declan Shannon for celebrating a beautiful Funeral Mass and graveside prayers together with his comforting home visits and guidance. To Erica Heslin and Peter Masterson, for their wonderful and meaningful music and song, we thank you sincerely.  To Cian’s friends who carried him to his final resting place with such respect & dignity and to Peter for the music by the graveside.

To all those who stood along the roadside and performed a guard of honour, to local businesses, staff and students at St Patrick's N.S., Moyne Community School, Dromard Child Care, friends and all who attended the funeral, we express our deepest gratitude.

To everyone at Moyne Community School and the home tuition teachers who made it possible for Cian to complete his Leaving Certificate, to Edna and staff at Mountbellew Agricultural College, to all at GMIT for all you did for Cian when he attended for Lab days.  A special word of thanks to Freda for your continued support.

To all our neighbours, friends and local businesses who baked, brought food and supplies to our house over the days of the wake and funeral.  Your generosity was greatly appreciated. Thanks to the parking stewards at the house, chapel and graveyard.

To the grave diggers, thank you for the particular care that you gave in preparing Cian's final resting place.  To Glennon's Funeral Directors, please accept our sincere thanks and gratitude for your compassion, guidance and attention extended to us, ensuring that Cian had the best send-off he could while Covid restrictions existed.

To Cian’s many friends, you know who you are, Cian had so many great friends over his 19 years, thank you so much for making his years so full of fun and laughter, he loved being one of the lads, even as an amputee, nothing stopped him until the very end.  His determination to live was an inspiration to us all.

To all his friends who ran the Shave or Dye fundraiser for Sarcoma Cancer research, you are amazing, to the friends who came and shaved Cian’s head because I couldn’t do it.  He was always one of the lads right to end.  To all who visited Cian in his final days when he could no longer travel to you.  We will never forget your love and support to him & us in his final hours.  For the car & tractor drive on his final journey which brought a smile to us, as it would to Cian also, we are deeply grateful. 

Thank you to Liam and Colm for the fitting eulogy, Cian lived such a full life for his 19 years but this was only made possible by his fantastic group of friends who stuck by him through everything right to the end.

Thanks to everyone in St Vincent’s Hospital, to Dr. Fennelly,Dr Doherty and everyone on St Annes Oncology Ward.  To Dr Alan Molloy, Margaret Kavanagh and all the nursing staff you cared for Cian in Cappagh Hospital, to Dr Lavin, Dr White and staff at St Luke’s Hospital, Rathgar.   Thanks to Jane Cunningham at Ottoboc prosthetics & to Michelle in the Phoenix Centre, Longford. 

A special word of thanks to the staff at Fosters Pharmacy, Arva who always went above and beyond.  To Dr Sean Moran, Rita, Claire & Naomi for your help and support over the years.

A very special word of thanks to Deirdre Waters, words will never be enough to thank you for all you did for Cian over the two and half years of the illness.  Not only did you look after his medical needs but you raised his and all of our spirits every time you walked through that door.

To Longford Hospice Palliative Care team, Ann, Liz and Claire – you are amazing, you cared for Cian and our family with such love and attention, together with Deirdre, you made it possible for Cian to die with dignity at home surrounded by his family and friends, we will be forever grateful.  

As it is not possible to thank everyone individually, please accept this acknowledgement as an expression of our deep appreciation to all who have supported us in any way.

Cian's 1st Anniversary Mass will take place on Saturday, 11th June at 7pm in St Francis Xavier Church, Moyne.

Cian’s Way - In memory of Cian, and his great love of the land, we with the help of family, many friends and neighbours have started a memorial garden, we wish to thank each and everyone who helped, donated, built & planted in Cian’s memory.  Please feel free to visit and enjoy this beautiful tribute to Cian.

May Cian always be remembered with love and laughter.