Memorial walk to take place for ‘kind and funny’ Rhode man

A walk in memory of a Rhode man who died by suicide in May is to take place tomorrow, Saturday August 14.

The walk, set up by workers in KBC in memory of their colleague Dean Morris, has already raised over €7,000 for the charity Jigsaw, something which everyone involved never expected to happen.

“We had already donated some money at Dean’s month’s mind, so to raise this much now is amazing,” said Loreena Dowdall, Dean’s manager at KBC in Dublin.

“One of the lads in work’s uncle is a chef for the Irish football team and he had a jersey that all the players had signed, and we raised about €700 from that.

“The fact that the fundraiser has raised over €7,000 now just shows that mark of respect we all had for him. We all really loved him.”

Dean had worked in the customers services department of KBC in Sandwith Street in Dublin for six years before he passed away.

“Dean travelled up every day from Rhode, but when the pandemic hit we then had to move people around to allow for social distancing, so he moved to City Quay and so did I,” Loreena said.

“I said it to him just a few weeks before he died that one of the only good things to come out of Covid for me was that I got to know Dean, because I wouldn’t have known him as well before that.

“I really grew to trust and rely on him, and he was always there smiling,” she said. “We had to have a manager on site, but if myself or the other manager couldn’t do a day I never worried because Dean was there.

“I can count on two fingers how many times I gave an outstanding rating to employees for their performance, and I gave it to him no problem.”

It was at work where Dean met his partner, Jenney Kerr, and after his passing the team decided to do something in his memory.

“We don’t want to forget about Dean, so we’re doing this sponsored walk tomorrow,” Loreena said.

“Jenny came up with the idea of doing it at Croghan Hill and there are twelve of us coming down from the bank, and some lads from the local football team are joining us along with Dean’s family.

“KBC has also bought a tree and along with the Dublin City Council we’re going to plant that in the park in Merrion Square in his memory.”

Paudy Clarke from Louth, one of Dean’s friends and colleagues said that his passing “was really devastating for the community in Rhode.”

“He played with Rhode GAA all his life. He had lifelong friends from there and he regularly spoke about the teams and how close the whole community was. That was something that really stood out at his funeral.

“We are a very close-knit group in work too,” he continued. “I would say I was really close friends with him, but there are so many other people who can say the same because that’s the kind of person he was, which makes his passing all the more upsetting.

“He was just such great craic, really outgoing and popular and he always made people laugh.”

While Paudy also didn’t expect the fundraiser to be so successful, he said that with the amount of people Dean knew, it is not surprising that it has raised the amount of money that it has.

“When Jenny first set up the GoFundMe page, it was more just for people in work and Dean’s friends and family to donate through, but once it was shared and reached a wider audience it got a huge response.

“I knew if it reached the amount of people that he knew it would raise a lot. He had friends from all over the country through work and football, and it just shows how well-loved he was.”

While Dean’s passing is tragic, Paudy says that there is a silver-lining through the fundraiser raising awareness about mental health and Jigsaw.

“I know the response has been overwhelming for Jenny and Dean’s family,” he said. “Mental health is something that needs to be discussed and understood so hopefully we are helping with that."

Jenny said she “can’t say enough how amazing Dean was.”

“He was such a kind and funny person and I was so lucky to have him in my life. Dean was a big character to us and we miss him every day.

“It is so important to share the message on mental health. This was such a shock to me, his family and friends. One choice he made in a very vulnerable moment has changed all our lives, and we are always wishing him peace,” she finished.

Anybody who would like to donate to the fundraiser can do so by visiting https://ie.gofundme.com/f/8seaq-help-mental-health and more information about Jigsaw can be found on jigsaw.ie