Five people have a better chance of living because the late champion boxer John Cooney donated some of his organs, the 28-year-old’s funeral Mass in Co Galway has heard.
Fr Tadhg Quinn said it was a measure of Cooney and his family that at a time of despair they could still think of others and attempt to help them.
The boxer died last week after suffering an intracranial haemorrhage during a fight at the start of the month.
Fr Quinn told the packed Church of St John the Apostle in his parish of Knocknacarra that Cooney’s death was a “real tragedy” and had left many people shocked.
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“But out of it too has some come some good because of donations of parts of his body to others,” he said.
“There are five people today with a greater chance of living because John’s family gave parts of his body to others. So John will live on in other people. And I’d like to thank the family for that, for giving that commitment of caring.”
Cooney died after a super-featherweight bout with Welshman Nathan Howells in Belfast on February 1st. It was his first defence of the Celtic super-featherweight crown he had won in November 2023 on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s victory over Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin.
The contest was stopped in the ninth round and Cooney was assessed by a medical team in the ring before being taken out on a stretcher and transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital.
He had surgery to relieve pressure on his brain but died last weekend.
Fr Quinn noted Cooney’s talent, commitment and work ethic, saying he would often be seen running on the area’s roads when he was preparing for a fight.
“He had prepared well. He came to win, to hold on to his crown,” he said. “He fought to defend that crown. Forty-five minutes later or so, he was fighting for his life.”
Fr Quinn praised the boxing community and the Cooney’s neighbours and friends for the way they have supported his parents, Tina and Hughie, fiancee Emmaleen, brothers Conor and Aaron, grandmother Judith and extended family.
“He will be deeply missed, an amazing ambassador for the sport of boxing,” said Fr Quinn. “A young man full of respect, pride and passion. A perfect role model for our young people to look up to.”
He said Cooney was “looking forward to settling down” and having a family with Emmaleen, who sang Angel by Sarah McLachlan during the Mass.
“I think it is very hard to lay to rest the soul mate that you loved and put so much work into for the past five years on Valentine’s Day. It makes it so hard,” Fr Quinn told Emmaleen.
Mourners travelled from all over Ireland as well as from Bournemouth and London in England, where Cooney had grown up.
The priest remembered Cooney as “a man who was positive about everything” and worked three days a week over the past year or so cutting hair and trained four days a week in boxing.
He was buried in Rahoon Cemetery following the Mass.
