TRIBUTES were being paid across Limerick and the length and breadth of Ireland this morning after the passing of a titan of Irish comedy, television, film, and theatre.
Jon Kenny, from Hospital in County Limerick, passed away at the Galway Clinic on Friday evening at the age of 66.
The late Limerick talent is best known as one half of the legendary comedy duo D’Unbelievables, with fellow national treasure Pat Shortt, but established himself as a formidable creative force in his own right over an accomplished and varied career spanning more than three decades.
Kenny rose to fame in the late 1980s with the D’Unbelievables, touring the country extensively and releasing a catalogue of material that would become a VHS staple in every Irish home, including One Hell of a Video, D’Unbelievables, D’Video, D’Telly, and D’Mother.
Along with Pat Shortt, the duo provided an impactful comic mirror on Irish society with classic sketches like ‘Crimebusters’, ‘Bridie’s Christening’, and ‘Back of the Church’. The pair disbanded in 2000 when Kenny was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease.
Following his recovery, the lifelong Munster Rugby fan stretched his creative wings even further, establishing himself as a respected theatre and film actor, while also writing and performing his own solo comedy shows to great acclaim.
On stage, he received high praise for his performance in John B Keane’s The Matchmaker, a role which he had recently reprised in Limerick’s Lime Tree theatre in April this year.
His latest one man show, Ships in the Dawn, was due to play at Charleville’s Schoolyard Theatre this Saturday evening. It was previously preformed at the Éigse Michael Hartnett festival in Newcastle West last month.
On the screen, Kenny also built up a string of notable appearances, including a number of roles in classic sitcom Father Ted, Roddy Doyle’s The Van, Angela’s Ashes, The Hurler, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers, and a highly lauded reunion with Pat Shortt in Martin McDonagh’s Banshees of Inisherin.
In more recent years, he turned his creative gaze towards poetry, which he presented to audiences earlier this year at the Listowel Writers’ Week and the Electric Picnic.
Earlier this year, he also played a starring role as the grand marshal in the Limerick St Patrick’s Day parade, riding his bicycle through the city at the head of the parade.
On being a proud Limerick man, he said at the time: “Being part of this society or community, this greater thing called Limerick you just begin to identify, I suppose we are part of a tribe.”
“It’s brilliant to feel you belong to part of something and to carry it with you in your work when you go away. It’s amazing no matter where I’ve been or performed whether you are in New York or Toronto or London or Belfast or any place or even in Dublin people come up to you and they say ‘you’re from Limerick aren’t you?’
“I’m part of that group of people like a lot of people from County Limerick who are artists and musicians who have to travel for a living and so we do carry Limerick with us no matter where we go and with great pride.”
Kenny revealed earlier this year that he had begun treatment for lung cancer for the second time, having previously undergone an operation to remove a tumour four years ago. He had in previous months been undergoing chemotherapy after a new tumour had been found on his left lung.
Jon is survived by his beloved wife Margie, daughter Leah, son Aaron, and his wide network of family and friends.
Funeral details have yet to be confirmed.
