DUNFANAGHY Presbyterian Church was filled to overflowing on Saturday for a Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving for 27-year-old Keith Leal, the son of the minister, Rev Dario Leal and his wife,
Denise.
The service was conducted by Rev Tommy Bruce from Letterkenny and was livestreamed partly for the benefit of Mr Leal’s family back in his native Chile.
An interpreter was in the pulpit to translate the entire proceedings into Spanish.
Mr Leal’s sister, Kathy, from Chile, had travelled from South America to be present, and when she addressed the service, her remarks about her beloved nephew were in turn translated into English.
The service was also screened in the church hall, where overspill mourners were accommodated.
Among those in attendance were management and staff from Moore’s Garage and supermarket in Dunfanaghy, where Keith was a much-loved colleague. He had been employed in the shop from January until the end of May when he was suddenly taken ill.
He received treatment in Letterkenny University Hospital, the Mater in Dublin and then was airlifted in June from Dublin to Manchester for specialist management in the cardiac intensive care unit of the Wythenshawe Hospital
At one stage it was hoped he would be a candidate for a heart transplant but sadly this was not to be. Keith died from further complications on September 10.
Mourners were told that Keith Leal had “reconnected with his faith” during his time in the Wythenshawe and had stipulated that his funeral should take place in Dunfanaghy Presbyterian Church, with a wake being held in the Manse the day before.
Among the speakers at the funeral was the Rev Andrew Bennison, a chaplain at Wythenshawe who had travelled over to Donegal to take part.
He said he had developed a close friendship with Keith during his time in hospital and told the
congregation that Keith’s profession of faith had actually proved inspirational for him on his own Christian journey.
The Rev John Dickinson, senior minister at Carnmoney Presbyterian Church in Newtownabbey, where the Leal family had worshipped when Keith was a teenager, said Keith loved connecting with people and introducing his friends to each other.
Mr Dickinson said Keith had always loved reading and enjoyed visiting independent book shops.
He was keen on football and was a dedicated follower of Cliftonville FC in Belfast where his father was a chaplain.
Born in Lisburn he lived for two years in Madrid when his family moved there, and became fluent in Spanish.
Back home, he attended school and Belfast MET before studying film and media at University of Ulster in Coleraine.
He travelled widely with his parents and secured a qualification for Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Cambridge, which he used for on-line classes.
Mr Dickinson said that while Keith was a student he continued with his part-time job at the Tesco store in Yorkgate, travelling up even during the Covid pandemic from the family home in Ballynahinch, where Mr Leal was Presbyterian minister.
The moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Dr Richard Kerr, delivered a short address and closed the service in prayer.
Burial took place at Clondahorkey Old Church Graveyard, Dunfanaghy.
Keith Leal is survived by his parents, Dario and Denise and by
his siblings, Emily, Samuel and Isabelle.
Happier times: Rev Dario Leal, his wife, Denise and their children, (from left) Samuel, Keith, Isabelle and Emily outside Carrigart Church after Dario’s installation in May 2025.