UPDATE from the family, please read.

07/03/22

"Dear All,

First and foremost, please accept our sincere and genuine apologies for the length of time it has taken to get back to you, however, we have no doubt that you shall understand. We have so many people to thank that it shall be inevitable we will miss someone out, please do not be offended, it will be wholly unintentional.

Kevin’s Month’s Mind Mass shall take place on Saturday March 12th at St. Mary’s Church, Dechomet, at 12 noon. All are welcome to attend. The mass shall be streamed live, also.

We shall be closing this Just Giving page soon and have been in touch with Eithne and Colin Bell, from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, whom we shall be meeting in the very near future. We shall take pride donating in Kevin’s name. For that, we are so grateful to each one of you and we can only hope you realise the depth of our gratitude. The amount of money raised was staggering beyond belief. Thank you, all.

Eithne and Colin (KBRT) lost their son, Kevin, 26 years ago in New York and were left in the unenviable position of trying to bring him home from New York, at a time when no help was available. In turn, they set up the Trust to help others in future years. It took one phone call from Gillian (Lisa’s sister) and that was it sorted, we had Kevin back with us in 5 days. We can only refer to the KBRT as ‘miracle workers.’ They turned their tragedy into a force for good and our depth of gratitude is immense.

To the Medical Staff and Coroner’s Office in Kiev. The respect they afforded Kevin and the way in which he was sent home to us was dignity personified, from beginning to end. To the paramedic who phoned Noza from Kiev to put her mind at ease, thank you. To Oleg, who accompanied Kevin on his final journey back to Ireland, via Istanbul, thank you, from the very depths of our hearts.

To the people of Ukraine, our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Our gratitude to you is eternal. We hope, desperately hope, the horror you are enduring shall soon end and that you are not let down through the failings of Western leadership.

A special word of thanks and praise must go to Barney and his staff (Cunningham Funeral Directors, Castlewellan) for their sheer professionalism in dealing with Kevin and ourselves. They did you and Kevin proud, Caolan!

We send all our love, from Ireland to China, to Sean, Ciaran, Philly, Sunny and all of Kevin’s close friends.

It is imperative that we thank Gillian, Izzy, Amber, Megan and our sons for taking complete control of proceedings, you were all absolutely incredible! Quite simply, Lisa and I were unable to act, let alone think, coherently. To Fr Peter, whose wisdom and humility is truly awe inspiring, all we can say is, ‘Thank you, so much!’.

To Sarah, the wonderful mother of our adored granddaughter, Saoirse, your strength of character was beautiful to witness. We are so proud of you!

It is necessary, for us, to acknowledge the love and compassion afforded to Noza. She has been totally overwhelmed and it has helped to keep her strong through the long, lonely days she is enduring at this time.

To Kevin’s friends – and the friends of our other sons – we thank you as, amid our sadness, you also brought laughter and joy. The dignity and respect you afforded Lisa and I shall stay with us for the rest of our days. To Michael and Ciaran (Derry), you are very much in our thoughts.

We thank Mr Ian McConaghy, Headmaster, Dromore HS and ask him to pass on our thanks and appreciation to his staff who have been a tower of strength for Lisa, indeed us all. Dromore shall have a special place in our hearts and our wishes for the success of staff and pupils alike shall never cease.

We deeply appreciated the contact from the Asian GAA, Castlewellan Town FC and Liatroim Fontenoy’s CLG, alongside the many other teams and sporting organisations. Shunde Gaels shall remain forever in our hearts.

To our friends, neighbours and complete strangers, we are indebted to you for your kindness through thought, word, and deed. To those who spent time preparing food, to those who bought and brought every item imaginable, to those who expressed heartfelt condolences, thank you, again, so much.

We thank all who attended Kevin’s funeral, as well as those who joined us online. At one stage there were 300 viewing, at the same time, across the world. Again, we appreciated this greatly.

To our own families - no thanks are necessary, we know - we need to acknowledge just how much you mean to us all. We would never have got through this nightmare without you. We have lost our son but you, too, have suffered the loss of a much-loved grandson, nephew and cousin. Thank you!

With love and best wishes to you all,

Kieran, Lisa & The Boys"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Saturday 12th February 2022, Kevin Gregory suddenly passed away while in Kiev, Ukraine.

Kevin is the dearly beloved son of Kieran and Lisa and loving brother of Conor, Declan, Aodhán, Domhnall, Fionntán and Anton, beloved uncle of Saoirse and loving boyfriend of Noza.

The family would all like Kevin to be brought home as soon as possible. Please consider giving whatever you can to help the family at this incredibly difficult time, to ensure Kevin can be brought home to peacefully rest surrounded by those who love him.

Funeral arrangements will follow. The family would kindly request privacy at this time.

On his soul sweet Jesus have mercy, deeply regretted by his sorrowing father, mother, brothers, niece, girlfriend and entire family circle.

St Anthony pray for him.