South Mayo saddened by passing of Shannon Forde in USA

SAD LOSS The late Shannon Forde is pictured at Citi Field – the home of the New York Mets baseball team – in 2012.

Neill O'Neill

THE community around The Neale in south Mayo was saddened to hear over the weekend of the death of Shannon Forde in New Jersey. Aged 44 she passed away last Friday after a brave four year battle against cancer.
Along with her husband John Forde, a native of The Neale, Shannon was a regular visitor to Mayo in recent years, and was the mother of two young children. She was a daughter-in-law of John and Mary Forde from The Neale and is deeply mourned by the many members of the Forde family, well-known residents in The Neale and wider south Mayo areas.
Shannon and John met in the USA when he moved there. They married and set up home together, later having two children Nicholas and Kendall. Her death sparked a large outpouring of grief in the US baseball family, as Shannon was a senior media relations director with the New York Mets baseball team, where she worked for 20 years. She was extremely well regarded in the sport.
“Shannon was a very unique person,” Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. “I was fortunate to see her for an hour a few weeks ago and had a great time laughing and visiting with her. My condolences to her husband John and two children and the Dalton and Forde families. Citi Field [home of the New York Mets] won’t be the same without her contagious smile and genuine personality.”
“Shannon was an absolute inspiration to everyone in this organisation, including me, and I told her so,” General Manager Sandy Alderson said. Former and current players took to social media en masse to pay respects to Shannon, variously described as the ‘mother of the team’ and ‘always smiling, laughing talking to everyone’. Mets captain David Wright was thankful for the input Shannon had on his career.
“Shannon was with me my whole career in the Mets. She helped me so much when I was a rookie. She worked hard to assist my foundation and helped me get acclimated to New York.” The New York Mets posted a video tribute to Shannon online over the weekend. Her funeral will take place in New Jersey later this week. May she rest in peace.