The funeral of journalist Aideen Kennedy will be held on Tuesday, after her death over the weekend at the age of 43.
On Friday, Aideen said on Twitter that she had been treated at the hospital but was now going home to receive palliative care, but that she died at the hospital on Saturday.
In her latest post on social media, the journalist, who was perhaps best known since her time on UTV, asked her fans to take care of her children.
“Life has not gone well and I am as sick as when I went to the hospital. [I’m] essentially going home to die but receiving palliative care. The kids know it. If you find them, will you watch them? They are the kindest, sweetest and most thoughtful children, “he said.
It was announced on Saturday that he had died.
Journalist Claire Savage said she first met Aideen when they both participated in the Washington Ireland Program 20 years ago.
“I will always remember her as this young woman with curly hair, bright eyes and lively eyes and she was so impressed that I told her I had to go and look for a job at Belfast Citybeat, where I worked with Stephen Nolan,” he told magazine. Belfast Telegraph.
“I was leaving Citybeat at the time. She was already a talented print journalist, but I thought she really had a face for the show. She was warm and kind and a real person.
“I knew she would be a great station, because she had this natural way with people. Aideen got the job at Citybeat and we grew up together in the media industry.
“We met regularly and followed the careers of others, and anyone who knew Aideen knew her as such a warm and kind woman.
“Unfortunately, she received many bad times in life. Unfortunately, when I moved to England we lost a little contact, but I remember her with great affection, especially when we were twenty years together in America.
“She was a gifted woman who loved people and people loved her. I hope her parents can be comforted by the fact that so many people loved her. This is a rare thing in the media industry, but it really was “.
Following the news of Aideen’s death, there was an outpouring of grief.
In a statement, a UTV spokeswoman offered her condolences to her family.
“The UTV family is deeply saddened to learn of the death of former colleague and friend Aideen Kennedy. A truly gifted reporter, she spent many years at UTV bringing stories to viewers across Northern Ireland,” the spokesman said. .
DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly also met Aideen in the Washington Ireland Program. She said she was “absolutely devastated” by the death of her “beautiful, funny and kind friend.”
“I miss her so much. We met 22 years ago when we shared a room for the summer in DC and became good friends. Goodbye beautiful girl,” she said.
A funeral notice for the late journalist read: “Devout mother of Jacob and Eve, beloved daughter of Noel and Maura, loving sister of the late Rory, Dara and Fiona (Brady).
“Aideen’s remains will leave O’Kanes Funeral Directors, 116-118 Donegall Street, Belfast at 10:30 a.m. to arrive at Good Shepherd’s Church for Requiem Mass at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Monitoring of cremation arrangements, Private House.
“Only family flowers, replacement donations if desired can be made at RNIB c / o O’Kanes Funeral Directors or online at www.okanesfunerals.co.uk.”
Aideen was one of four brothers, all of whom have now died young. She is survived by her two children, Jacob and Eva, and her parents, Noel and Maura.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph in 2019, Aideen talked about how she lost her little brother Dara to a brain tumor in 2015 and her older sister Fiona shortly after cancer.
“I grew up in Belfast. It was me, my parents, my father was an engineer and my mother was a teacher, my sister Fiona and my brother Dara. Both Fiona and Dara have died in recent years. Fiona was 44 years and Dara only 35. They were my best friends, “he said.
“I had another brother, Rory, who died in a car accident when he had one. We talked about him all the time. Seamus Heaney’s mid-term break reminds me of Rory.
“The phrase” I saw him, for the first time in six weeks. Now paler, with a poppy hematoma in my left temple “I was always stuck.
“My mother said Rory looked like an angel and you wouldn’t know anything had happened but the hematoma. I remember a teacher reading that poem. It immediately made me think of him.
“My mother Maura and my father Noel are the strongest and most charming people I know. With my mother, a teacher, and my father from Argentina, the nature of our family has always led children.
“We are very focused on people as a family. We were a very close-knit family and we did a lot of things together. ”
He also paid tribute to his parents in the same interview.
“They have gone through a lot of things, after losing three of their children, but they refuse to let life overtake them,” he said.
“They’re fun, loving and supportive, and they enjoy everything life has to offer. They’re bridge champions. I admire his attitude towards life. “
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