Tragic holiday death of London music director
RIPChurch sources report that Ian Keatley, director of music at Southwark Cathedral, has collapsed and died while on holiday. Ian was 42.
Message from Southwark Cathedral:
An announcement regarding our Director of Music.
It is with great sadness that today we learned the sad news of our dear Ian Keatley’s death. As a Cathedral community we are so deeply shocked and are finding it hard to believe. Our hearts go out to Ian’s family, who were all here at the Cathedral with him just a couple of weeks ago, as proud of him as he of them.
Funeral arrangements will be communicated when they have been decided. In the meantime, please join us in praying for Ian’s loved ones in these difficult days.
Ian was an incredibly talented musician, and he loved his work here at the Cathedral and had many friends. Whilst an Organ Scholar here, from 2002-2004, he founded the Merbecke Choir. After then working at Westminster Abbey Choir School, the Chapel Royal in the Tower of London, and Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, he returned to Southwark five years ago. He absolutely loved choral music and was a passionate and skilled director, as well as a guide and mentor to the choristers. None of us will forget him recently conducting lots of choirs from all over the Diocese for a special diocesan Evensong, filling the nave with beauty and joy. His passion for church music was infectious, and it was a true gift and blessing to our community.
Ian was also a lover of life, a bon vivant, a man whose laughter filled a room, and whose hospitality was legendary. Colourful, stylish, a person of substance and reflection, he loved wine, good food, travel, and his many friends. He also took his faith seriously and understood his choral direction as a vocation, translating our faith into sound. We are all the better for him and all that he gave us. We will miss him deeply.
May Ian rest in peace and love, and rise in glory.
Mark Oakley
Dean
Devastated to hear that such a talented, caring, wonderful director of the choir has passed away. He was on fine form only the other week. This is a real shock.
I’m a chorister in his choir. I’m only 12 and so upset that this happened
Bless you. I hope you will be able to sing your best and remember him with music at his funeral.
Is he the brother of fabulous trumpet player Niall Keatley? They definitely look very similar
Yeah Niall’s his brother.
As Canon Mark says above, Ian was a highly regarded, respected and loved Director of choral music by all he helped inspire with his strong commitment and understanding of the role of music in liturgy.
He will be sorely missed by all those he inspired and led.
Such a tragic and untimely loss to Cathedral music and the musical world beyond
I will pray for him
Ian Keatley really was an outstanding all-rounder: both the man and the musician.
I write as one who spent 40+ years in Church Music in England and who first met Ian some 25 years ago, when he was relatively new to the organ.
He grew up to be a true Force of Nature: his joie de vivre and infectious sense of humour were rightfully legendary. Behind this passion, however, there was also deep compassion. He was generous with his time and attention, when someone needed guidance or support.
In addition to his skills, both conducting and at the console, he also possessed a strong vocal technique, driving very decent falsetto and powerful bass baritone voices.
It is still difficult to come to terms with having to use the Past Tense and I regret immensely busy schedules meant we had seen little of eachother, of late. Like many others, whose lives he touched, I will cherish memories of times spent with him and the fire that burned so brightly.
Peace and love to his family and friends… and to you on the Pearly Gates, I say: be ready for one almighty Lock-in!!
We all will miss him so much. Thank you for your beautiful words for a wonderful man.