‘Little warrior’ laid to rest

Little blue hero Leon Briody was laid to rest on Sunday, September 15, following his brave battle with cancer.

His funeral mass was celebrated at St Patrick’s Church in his home parish of Castletara, where members of An Garda Síochána formed a guard of honour at the entrance to the church, joined by other members of the community.

During his mass, which was celebrated by Parish Priest Gerard Cassidy, symbols of Leon’s life were brought forward by friends and family members. These included football boots representing his passion for Gaelic football and his local club Ballyhaise; a Nintendo Switch, which Leon regularly played; his working boots and keys, representing his love of farming, driving the tractor and being out in the garage; his phone; his teddy bear; his St Patrick’s National School jumper; a football, which he was presented with in Croke Park and his Ballyhaise football jersey, which he wore with pride.

“Leon did achieve a lot over the course of his short life in this world, and has left his parents, other family members and friends a lovely store of memories to cherish and treasure,” Fr Gerard told those gathered. Leon was born on May 23, 2016.

“To endure all that Leon endured and to cope so bravely with it all is to have achieved a great deal. It is not the length of life that matters but the intensity and the quality of it,” he added.

Sadly, Leon was diagnosed with Leukaemia in December 2020 and commenced Chemotherapy in Crumlin Children’s Hospital, where he attended for “regular” treatment visits.

Shortly before Leon was due to have a bone marrow transplant, a “very big day” took place at his school. On Friday, April 4, 2022, An Garda Síochána Little Blue Heroes charity foundation and St Patrick’s National school celebrated his sixth birthday “early and in style”.

“All the stops were pulled out that day,” Fr Gerard told those gathered.

This included a garda helicopter fly over, while the garda armed response teams, the dog and mounted unit from Dublin were also in attendance, as were Cavan Fire Service with their fire engine and the Cavan Civil Defence. Of course, Leon too was present in his garda uniform and was “given the honour of inspecting all garda members present”.

Leon’s peers at the school cheered as he arrived at the school yard, while some recited poetry they had written for him.

“At the end of the proceedings, the Chief Superintendent promoted Honorary Garda Leon to Honorary Sergeant Leon.”

The nine-year-old also made his first holy communion this year in St Patricks’ Church, while those gathered also heard about his love for Gaelic football and his local club.

“To say that Leon loved Gaelic football would be a huge understatement, he thoroughly enjoyed playing and training with Ballyhaise under 8s and then the under 10s and was in his element playing football as long as he was able, including most of this summer.”

He also attended the All-Ireland football semi-final and final this year, when he had the opportunity to meet some of his favourite players. The Cavan man had a “speedy answer” for Donegal manager Jim McGuinness who presented him with a jersey and asked if he would like to come and play for the team.

“Leon very quickly retorted: Oh no, I’ll play for Ballyhaise!”

Most recently, 310 jerseys came Leon’s way when children’s cancer charity Oscar’s Kids put out a call on Facebook. Donations for Leon came in from all over Ireland and abroad.

“But I think his favourite one was the Ballyhaise jersey,” Fr Gerard commented.

“He loved farming and enjoyed being up on the tractor with Alan [Leon’s father] or Barry [Leon’s uncle], he had mastered driving the tractor himself and up to last week mowed the grass regularly on a strip of land beside the family home. He had also started helping Alan in the garage, and was looking for his wages as well.”

Leon visited Disneyland Paris with his family in August last year.

“For almost five years now, Leon has battled Leukaemia,” Fr Gerard shared.

“Sadly, the time came recently when there were no further treatment options available for Leon, except pain relief.

“Throughout his illness Leon was a great little warrior. He never complained, he never questioned, he took it all in his stride and bore it all very bravely.

“He developed a great facility for listening to his body and knew when he had to lie down and take a rest. After putting up such a great fight, Leon slipped away from us very peacefully on Thursday [September 11] surrounded by his loved ones.

“There are no simple answers as to why some children suffer or die so early, but God does not allow the little ones to suffer on their own, he surrounds them with the love and support of family, friends, and others.”

Fr Gerard said Leon was surrounded by the “tremendous love” of “wonderful” parents Alan and Diane, family, friends, schoolmates, fellow team members and many others in the local community and beyond.

Leon is sadly missed by his loving parents Alan and Diane; his brothers Fionán, Caolán, and his sister Allie; his grandparents, Eileen and Patsy Briody and Rita McEntee; his uncles and aunts, Barry (Sharon), Shane (Siobhán), Dylan, Tracey (Tomas), Michael (Aisling), Kathleen (Enda), Patrick (Michelle), and Declan (Laura); his cousins, grandaunts and granduncles, relatives, football friends from Ballyhaise Football Club; his classmates from St Patrick’s National School, neighbours and many friends.

Leon’s funeral mass was followed by cremation in Lakelands Crematorium, Dublin Road, Cavan.

May he rest in peace.