Remembering Chef Shaun Brady

e e e welcome in on this Thursday there are heavy hearts in our Community right now as many mourn the loss of Chef Shawn Brady a popular restaurant owner here in the city that was shot and killed near East 63rd in Rock Hill Road at around 5:00 p.m. yesterday you're taking a look at that footage right here on your screen now Kansas City Police say that their preliminary investigation shows that the 40 40 44 year-old was just taking out the trash when he noticed some people around a car and confronted them that's when they shot him BR died at the hospital and right now as we report two juveniles are currently in custody but here at KY TV5 we want to shine a light on Chef Brady the man husband father chef and friend that he was so with that being said we are actually joined by a friend of his uh Mary Kate gleet who is the executive director at the Kansas City Irish Center Mary Kate thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and come in to the KCTV5 news station I want to start off just by asking you your overall feelings right now how are are you doing we're okay I mean as a community we are all certainly in shock um this was very unexpected and um Sean was an incredible person so it always is is tough to lose someone who's such a a Mainstay in a community like ours the Irish Community is very tight in it and so it's a it's a huge loss it is a huge loss and you said that you have received so many phone calls and you're still receiving a lot of text messages how did you hear about the passing and when did you hear about it um I heard last night about probably an hour uh from when the incident first happened from my cooworker um I got a call and just said hey what's up and she's like no this is bad um and that was kind of the tone everyone took with me I had uh my board share got people together right away to make sure everybody had heard and started making our own phone calls to make sure that everyone was was aware before they had to hear it from the news or someone less personal um to make sure that we all took care of ourselves and uh got to hear from from close people and from supportive people and I am seeing a lot of reaction on social media right now as well as so many of our viewers are probably seeing it as well just overall when you heard the news on that phone call did your heart drop what was running through your mind yeah uh I kind of fell down into and sat down I couldn't believe it you know I asked for for Sarah to repeat it a couple of times I didn't fully click right away um you know he was a person I was very much expecting to see over the course of the next several days with Irish Fest coming up and so to start to realize that wouldn't be happening was and still is very kind of shocking and offputting each time and I want to dive a little bit deeper into that I know you all are preparing for the Irish Fest right now that will be happening this Labor Day weekend what is it going to be like without Shawn there I know he is a pivotal piece in that celebration yeah it's going to be different uh like I said he was always a person you would see on site and on the grounds just saying hey taking care of things um obviously contributing most with food that was his gift was was food and bringing folks together over food and so that will be a loss uh to the festival as well it's my understanding that the Irish Breakfast Sean prepares will not be happening this year and instead some space will be given to folks to come together and share stories and memories and remember sha in our Irish Community that way do you know of any other ways that they are actually planning right now to honor him this week and I'm sure that there will be a ton yeah I don't know yet I mean the Irish Fest met last night and talked about how the what statements to make how to move forward that kind of information um I'm sure more will come from them as the week goes on and the weekend really kicks off and gets rolling um but all of us are just still trying to to get our arms around what happened and and each other and make sure everybody's taken care of what do you hope that people remember sha by I know you said uh you guys have a working you had a working relationship and you called them and asked them for some scones his popular famous scones and he delivered as he always did so what do you want people to remember him by Sean was the picture of this Irish Hospitality you know he was a person who never said no to a request he was always going to figure out how to make it um the a lot of Irish community events have been held at our Center whether funerals weddings wakes whatever they were and Shawn was almost always there to drop off some kind of food um he came through for us when we had an Irish government official visit and I needed to have scones for breakfast about a week later and he delivered for me um his restaurant was a place that I had work meetings I had personal dinners I had family dinners I took volunteers to to Brady for our Christmas kind of thank you lunch um you know it was always just a place to be welcome and comfortable and get an excellent meal and I know that Sean will be remembered for his skill in the kitchen and his kindness and just his willingness to truly bend over backward for the entire Community you know what I'm seeing a lot of on social media as well as his smile um and we see a little bit of that here um in that photo um but you know Mary Kate if Shan if he was sitting here right now yeah if you had the opportunity to say something to him one final time what would it be what would be your message to your work friend your friend what would you say to him in this moment just thank you again you know I I'm not from Kansas City neither is Sean but uh he was incredibly welcoming to this Community from the moment I stepped into it he was supportive of me in the role that I have as the Director here at the C uh Irish Center he was a supportive person to the entire Irish Community and there are a lot of us and a lot of opinions and a lot of organizations and Shawn was really able to be a friend to each and every one of us and I could never thank him enough for being that person to the whole community and uh being being that real main stay here in our community and so I would just tell him thanks he has truly left his Mark right here in our community um I know mayor Quinton Lucas spoke out about it um earlier this morning but again he is leaving his wife behind as well um as two young children so if people want to honor Shawn this weekend during the Irish Fest where can they learn more information as far as I'm aware just kind of keep going through the festivals social channels through their website I'm sure as soon as things are put together and planned that'll be the place to hear from them and of course our socials for the Irish Center will be sharing those as well just to make sure that message gets blasted out as much as we can um but certainly come down to Irish Fest celebrate with the community hold the community close you know this is a time to celebrate uh our heritage and our community but also to take some comfort in each other so if you're going to come to the festival I think still do it'll still be a good weekend and will be an important weekend for that kind of shared experience and togetherness an important weekend to celebrate and to honor the life of Chef sha Brady Mary Kate I want to thank you so much for having the courage to come in um and to talk with me um I know you are very very busy ahead of the Irish Fest but we definitely wanted to make sure that we continue to remember and honor the legacy of Chef Shawn Brady thank you again thank you