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THE HEARTBROKEN MOTHER of a man missing for 16 years has tragically passed away not knowing what happened to him.
Nancy Shanahan was still waiting for news on the whereabouts of her son Aengus ‘Gussie’ Shanahan, when she died.
Shanahan (74) promised her devastated husband Bob she’d look for their son in the afterlife just before she passed peacefully at University Hospital Limerick last Friday.
The former school teacher is survived by her beloved husband, her son Roibeard and her missing son Gussie, and daughters Reiltin and Grainne.
Speaking today as he prepared to repose his wife, Bob Shanahan said Nancy, “died broken hearted” not knowing what had happened to their Gussie, who disappeared aged 20.
“It was her wish to know. It was the one thing she always wanted… just a word on where he was,” Bob Shanahan said.
“She died utterly heartbroken,” he said.
She said she would look for him on her side, and we promised to keep looking for him on our side.
“It was all we could do to console her,” he added.
Appeal
Bob continued to appeal for information on the whereabouts of his son Gussie.
Our appeal still applies, we as a family still want to give him a Christian burial.
This is a big thing for me. I’ve been looking after Nancy for a good few years.
A complete and utter hole has been left in my life now.
In an interview in February this year, Nancy Shanahan said that before she died she wanted to know what happened to her son.
Bob and Nancy Shanahan said they believed their son was murdered after he left a pub on Joseph’s Street on the night of 11 February, 2000.
Speaking in her home as she appealed for information, Nancy said: “I miss him everyday.”
His birthday was the 23rd of January, he would have been 36.
He was the baby of the family.
He was a lovely child, but he got in with the wrong people. He wasn’t cute enough to pick the right people to go around with.
Pleading for information, she added: “I’d love to know what happened to him. I would love to know where he is before I die.”
Plagued
Nancy Shanahan, was left plagued by her son’s disappearance and suffered a stroke in 2001.
Her body will lay in repose at Thompson’s Funeral Home, Limerick from 4.30pm this Sunday, followed by removal to Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Ennis Road, Limerick.
Her requiem mass takes place on Monday at 11am, with burial afterwards at Castlemungret Cemetery.
The Shanahan family have requested “family flowers only” and “donations to Limerick Marine Search and Rescue Service”, who conducted long-scale searches for Gussie Shanahan, following his reported disappearance.
Bob Shanahan (72) made a direct appeal last February to a man who contacted him in 2007 about Gussie’s disappearance.
“I’m appealing for them to come back to us to end our agony,” he said.
Gardai have established that, on the night he vanished, Gussie went to Coopers bar in St Joseph Street.
CCTV footage shows his last recorded movements exiting the bar alone at 10.30pm, and walking onto Old School House lane.
Gardai have appealed for anyone with information relating to Shanahan’s case to contact Roxboro Road Garda Station on 061 214340, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
This has been going on for many years but I’ve yet to see any virtue signalling Facebook or The Journal profile pictures displaying the DR Congo flag.
@Dan Broderick: That might be because Ukraine is a fellow European country, that more directly affects us, we have more of an affiliation with their plight; we host 60,000 Ukrainian refugees and we see the effects of the war daily on TV news and websites. It more directly affects us, regardless which side we favour.
And I suspect if we were to look at Facebook profiles of Congolese people from the region, and other peoples of neighbouring African countries, near were this massacre happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lack Ukraine flags but display various indications of Tutsi and Hutu support, they might not be directory involved but have a side they support, because their neighbours got massacred this time or previously (ca. 5.4 million dead though war and famine in the last 25 years or so). What do you think?
I suppose it would be virtue signalling if Irish people started showing Hutu flags in or Hutus started showing Ukraine flag in their profiles. But that’s not what is happening.
@Dan Broderick: careful now, you’ll have your comment deleted. Seems the journal delete every comment they don’t like! Censorship deprives the public from perspective
@John White: Does it?
@John White: https://jrnl.ie/5938495
@Gavin Conran: there’s a big difference in deleting comments that are factual and not identifying anyone in particular vs making hurtful accusations against an individual, guilty or not it’s for the courts to decide. That’s not what I’m disputing, I have had multiple comments deleted that were PC and factual as have many others.
The UN are a complete waste of space.
@Mike Dunne: fully agree.
animals
@joe doyle: animals are far and away better than these so called human beings.
@joe doyle: Animals, financed by the biggest conglomerates in the World. The Congo was plundered by Belgium before independence only to be replaced by big business. The Congo is blessed or plagued by the minerals that’s found there. Our mobile phones work because of Cobalt which is mined in the Congo. Diamonds Gold are just a few of the resources that is fought over in proxy wars in the Congo.
The Gov in the Congo uses the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, as it’s security force and a sister company holds most of the mineral mining rights as payment. Be very careful before you jump to any conclusions about events in Congo!
@Liam Dunne: The use of mercenaries in the Congo since it’s Independence has been the norm. South Africa has been a major source for mercenaries funded by Western Big business. The last thing the conglomerates want is the Division of the Congo to unite and have a stable government. Kinshasa broke away from the rest of the Congo after Independence, It was the richest part of the Congo in minerals etc. They had no problem in using mercenaries from Europe, Rhodesia,South Africa paid for by mining companies. Nothing has changed. The mineral wealth of the Congo makes it a battle ground for proxy wars.
They are worse than animals. Savages. With no civil or human morals. There has to be something that can be done with savages like these that are slaughtering innocent villages of people just trying to live their lives. They should be massacred themselves. Them and their ilk raping children and babies as a tool of their power. Big power with their machetes and machine guns. An absolute disgrace that this is still going on and there are Supposedly UN troops designed to tackle these so call armies. Why is this still happening. There are too many movies made from actual events and record of these events throughout the years and they make for disturbing viewing and yet even though acknowledged, there is more and more still allowed to happen without proper intervention from powers that be. SADLY
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