Parents of man killed by road rage driver in the US set to lead Global Walk in his memory in Sneem

Irish Independent

22-05-2025

The husband and wife pairing, who have called Sneem in South Kerry their home for 20 plus years now, called into The Kerryman office in Tralee back at the end of March where they beamed with pride as they talked about their late son and only child, Sean Patrick Connelly, who was driven off the road and killed by a road rage driver in the U.S nearly 20 years ago on June 4 of 2005.
The pair, who were set to fly out to Florida the next day, travelled up from Sneem bright and early to talk about the upcoming global walk that they and charity Brú Columbanus have organised together as a tribute to Sean's memory.
Here in Kerry, the 5km walks will take place both in Sneem and in Tralee in June 7 with 22 sponsored walks in total set to take place simultaneously in a number of different countries around the world, including the Netherlands and Germany; 18 walks will take place meanwhile in 11 different states in the U.S. All of these walks are united by their shared goal of honouring Sean's legacy.
Brú Columbanus will be live-streaming the events and participants are are encouraged to share their experiences, photos, and videos on Instagram using #GlobalWalkForBru.
The Sneem walk will start at the Sneem Rowing Club boathouse at 2pm.
Speaking to The Kerryman, Bob and Maureen said they have been embedded in the Sneem community for nearly three decades now – Maureen is a proud member of the local Tidy Towns group there – and that it is a place that is extremely close to their hearts, not just because of the amazing community there, but also because it was the last place that Bob and Maureen were all together with Sean before he was killed.
Poignantly, from their house there, Bob and Maureen say that they can see Sean's grave. It was a place, they said, that he fell in love with while he was there. In a sign of how much the duo have been embraced by the local Sneem community, Bob said that people, when passing by Sean's grave, even those who did not know him personally, will place flowers on his grave.
"He was a kind, intelligent, friendly, and warm-hearted young man. He reached out to all ages. He always had a great way of communicating with people at their own level, be it children, friends, adults, and grandparents,' Bob and Maureen said.
"Sean's friends showed up at our house every Thursday night for two years after his passing. They were not only showing up for our loss, but also for theirs. We then moved house to try to get on with our lives, but also hoping for them to get on with their own. Two of his friends actually named their children after Sean, and every year, on the anniversary of his death, a bunch of his friends get together to remember him,' the pair continued.
Sean was 6'3 and 240 pounds and one thing we all miss terribly are his bear hugs,' they concluded.
As to why the pair chose Brú Columbanus as their charity of choice, Bob said that it was all down to him having to have open heart surgery last year.
"Last year, I had open heart surgery, and my wife was going back and forth from Sneem to the hospital in Cork, and it was then that someone recommended Brú Columbanus. I was in the hospital for 17 days, but she was able to stay in accommodation provided by Brú, and amazingly, there was no charge. It all just relies on donations, and we made sure to give them a very nice donation,' said Bob.
"That's when we got the idea of doing this upcoming walk in aid of Brú because the work that they do and the service that they provide is just so amazing,' he continued.
All details about the Global Walk for Brú can be found be clicking here: https://www.brucolumbanus.com/gw4b/?bcrFallback=bcrFallback