KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Irish Fest Friday was somber for friends of Shaun Brady, a beloved Kansas City chef murdered Wednesday evening.
Thousands will pour into Crown Center for a celebration of Irish heritage and culture.
“Someday there will be a little bit of light, and someday it’ll eventually be okay,” said Sarah Walsh.
Walsh was a close friend of Brady’s and is dealing with her grief along with others who knew and loved Brady.
"Yesterday and today, today feels like a job,” said Dan Regan. “It’s Irish Fest weekend and it can’t be that Shaun Brady is not here anymore.”
Two teens are charged with killing Brady August 28th outside his Brady&Fox restaurant in the Brookside neighborhood.
The beloved father, philanthropist and chef was known at Irish Fest for his Sunday breakfast.
Irish Fest leaders made the decision to cancel the breakfast.
“It just didn’t feel right so close to his passing,” explained Regan.
Brady's restaurant provided a place for food, fun and friends in the city's Irish community.
“He was very proud of his scones and Irish soda bread,” said Anthony Canning, an Irish immigrant and friend.
Canning met Brady 11 years ago when Brady was a chef at the Ambassador Hotel.
Canning and his friends frequented the restaurant and enjoyed a few free desserts, and more importantly, found a new friend.
“We come from roughly the same age and had the same interests," Canning said. "It was good to be able to share some of that camaraderie and Irishness with somebody in the community.”
The volunteers at Irish Fest are more like a family, according to Walsh.
“When I arrived on site yesterday, every board member and every person I saw, I hugged,” Walsh said. “I’ve noticed that we all try to lift each other up emotionally just in the last 24 to 48 hours since it all happened.”
Friday’s Irish Fest set up was somber and word quickly traveled around the globe with word of Brady’s death.
Irish media picked up the story of Brady’s murder.
“I think for a lot of us it’s probably one of the first times for me personally I am directly affected by gun violence or knowing somebody that was murdered,” Canning said. “It’s hard to put it in context because he was trying to do the right thing and he was trying to stop something. He was at the wrong place, with the wrong people, at the wrong time.”
Colleagues are preparing for a weekend without Brady.
“I think the Irish have a great gift for melancholy and a great gift for overcoming, which suits us well,” Dan Regan said. “There’s a silver lining. It’s just a little harder this weekend.”
For more information on Irish Fest click here.
If you'd like to contribute to Shaun Brady's Memorial fund, click here.
KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.