'Everyone has been so kind': Family of man reported missing in Cork a year ago renew appeal for information 

The family of a man who has been missing from Cork city for a year has issued a renewed appeal for help.

Dubliner John Keaveney, a 43-year-old IT specialist, was last seen on CCTV footage in the early hours of Monday, August 21, 2023, in the vicinity of Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

John’s wife Adrienne told The Echo she can never repay the people of Cork for all of their support.

“Everyone has been so kind: The gardaí, Mallow Search and Rescue, Cork City Missing Persons, Caitríona Twomey and everyone in Cork Penny Dinners, the media, the public, they have all been so supportive from the very beginning,” Ms Keaveney said.

John and Adrienne had been on holiday with their three young daughters in East Cork when John suffered an epileptic episode on Saturday, August 19, and an ambulance brought him to Cork University Hospital (CUH), where he was kept overnight.

He may have suffered a further epileptic episode at CUH, leaving him disoriented, and although CUH had wanted to keep John for a second night, on the Sunday, for further tests, he left the hospital.

John went to Wilton Shopping Centre and purchased telephone charging leads, before heading into Cork city centre, where he may have visited some outlets to recharge his phone. He may still have been wearing a hospital wristband.

Later that Sunday evening, he briefly powered up his phone, and contact was made with his family, who booked him a room in Isaac’s Hotel, with the intention of collecting him there.

However, John did not check in.

Last sighting 

The last definite sighting of John was about 1am on Monday, August 21, by the Circle K garage on Centre Park Road, where he appeared to be confused.

He spoke with a taxi driver, and may have asked to be taken to Marino, in Dublin, where John lives.

There has been speculation that confusion about Marino and Cork’s nearby Marina may have brought him there, while some of John’s family have noted that the road resembles his home area around Griffith Avenue.

He did not get in the taxi, and, approximately 20 minutes later, CCTV footage caught an indistinct figure walking past Páirc Uí Chaoimh, heading down the nearby greenway.

There was a reported sighting of someone possibly fitting John’s description at the roundabout by Cork Airport between 4am and 5am on that Monday morning, but gardaí have been unable to confirm it.

Adrienne said her husband was a big music fan, who had attended numerous gigs at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the Marquee, and he had travelled the world following his favourite band, Oasis, who have been in the news after announcing a reunion.

“He was a huge Oasis superfan, he went to see Oasis 43 times, and I don’t actually know how many times he went to see Liam and Noel separately,” Adrienne said.

“I had actually bought the tickets to go see them as a wedding present for John and we went to Rock en Seinne [in August 2009], when they just didn’t come on stage, so we were there when they broke up.

“It’s just weird that, a year after John went missing, they announce that they’re getting back together, it’s so strange, and they’re going to be playing in Croke Park next August, nearly a year again to the day when he disappeared,” she said.

“Páirc Uí Chaoimh, ironically enough, was the first place that he ever saw Oasis, when he was 16. He got the bus down to see them and that was his first gig ever at them.”

Extensive searches 

Volunteers have carried out extensive searches, to no avail, and gardaí have appealed to homeowners, farmers, and businesses all over Cork to check outhouses and remote buildings.

John Keaveney is described as being 5’9”, of slim build, with brown eyes and bald.

When last seen, John was wearing a pair of navy trousers, a grey Umbro hoodie that had the Irish soccer logo, and multicoloured trainers.

Last week, Inspector James Hallahan, of Anglesea Street Garda Station, who is co-ordinating the investigation, said: “We renew our appeal that the public might come forward with what might be the missing piece of the jigsaw; they might have seen him and they might not have come forward before. We need the public’s help to give the family that news that they are desperately seeking.”

Anyone with information on John’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111, or any Garda station, or to phone John’s family on 083 4622598.