Galway Bay fm newsroom - Hurling legend Tony Keady is this evening being laid to rest on the shores of Galway Bay at Renville Cemetery.
Thousands of people attended his funeral in Oranmore to bid a final farewell to the man long considered one of the finest players to ever wear the county colours.
The Killimordaly native, who was 53 years of age, is survived by his wife Margaret and their four children.
Tony lived in Frenchfort on the outskirts of the village and worked at Calasanctius College as a caretaker, where he remained deeply involved in coaching.
Among the mourners today are Tony's former Galway and Killimordaly team mates, as well as players from GAA communities all across the country.
Symbols presented at this afternoon's mass to represent his life included an Oranmore GAA jacket, a Killimordaly jersey, the last hurley made by Tony and a sapling ash tree.
Opening his homily, Fr. Diarmuid Hogan paid tribute to the huge role Tony played in the Oranmore community:
Fr. Hogan offered that while hurling was a huge part of Tony's life, it was not the only thing to which he had devoted himself:
Fr. Hogan also had this advice for those in attendance as to how they might help preserve Tony's legacy:
Guards of Honor were this afternoon provided by Tony's teammates from the 1980's, Killimordaly and Oranmore-Maree GAA Clubs and students from Calasantius College.
Tony Keady is this evening being laid to rest at Renville Cemetery on the shores of Galway Bay.
The last song to the sung in the cemetery this evening will be The West's Awake - a final farewell to one of the finest hurlers to ever take the field in Ireland.
