Tributes have been paid to a “salt of the earth” Tralee man who died in hospital in England this week after he was knocked down in a suspected hit and run incident.
Shane Scannell (44) died in hospital on Thursday following an incident on South Street in Epsom, Surrey at around 12.15am last Monday. Mr Scannell was found unresponsive on the road after being knocked down by a driver who failed to stop at the scene.
Tralee-based Sinn Féin Councillor Cathal Foley said on Saturday that Mr Scannell’s death was a “bolt from the blue”.
“He (Shane) was a lovely genuine fella. It is an awful tragedy for the family,” he said. “I knew him when I was growing up. He was always very close to his mother. He comes from a salt of the earth family. He was the salt of the earth. It is horrendous.”
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Mr Foley added: “He was a really friendly fella who worked in a lot of bars over the years in Tralee. He moved to England. He was very well known and liked. I used to meet him at football matches. He would go to the Kerry matches. He only grew up over the road from me. It is hard to comprehend.”
Meanwhile, Mr Scannell was described as having been a “massive part of the team” at McCafferty’s pub in Epsom. Staff said in a statement that they would miss their colleague and friend.
“To say that we are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Shane Scannell would probably be the understatement of the century. Shane was a friend to many of us here and a massive part of the McCafferty’s team,” they wrote. “As many will agree, he was possibly the biggest Liverpool supporter known to mankind. Always up for the craic and always with a smile.”
Police in Surrey are investigating the incident. They offered their condolences to the family of the deceased and said public appeals for information have been made in Epsom.