After Dad's Death, Woman Knows She Must Learn Truth Behind Photos Before She Can Spread His Ashes
When a woman from Washington was thinking of places to spread her late father’s ashes, she immediately thought of the stories he used to share from his trip to Ireland 18 years ago. More specifically, the story of a family who helped him when he had unexpected car troubles.
Kailey Dominique, 34, didn’t know much about the family or even where her father met them, but she did have a few photos of the town. So she reached out to an active group of female travelers on Facebook who creatively helped her locate the town and even get in contact with the family.
Kevin O’Hearn, Dominique’s dad, battled with brain cancer for 18 months before he passed away on July 12, 2012. Dominique described him as “the most kind, hard working, giving, compassionate, empathetic, accepting man” she has ever known.
“My favorite thing about him was his heart,” she told Liftable, a section of The Western Journal. “He would give anyone in need the shirt off his back. Every year for the holidays, anyone with no place to go was invited to our house for a meal and laughs.”
When he passed away in 2012, Dominique’s world was shattered.
But as she began to think of where to spread her dad’s ashes, she knew that Ireland would be the perfect place.
“He was so proud of his Irish heritage and st paddy’s day was his favorite holiday,” she wrote in an email to Liftable. “He took the same trip i did 18 years ago and it was his favorite place! I knew he’d be so happy and proud to be laid to rest there.”
There was one particular part of O’Hearn’s trip that left a large impression on him. While he was driving through a small town, his car broke down.
A local stranger named Clint invited him to stay at his home, fed him and helped him fix his car. Even though O’Hearn offered money to thank Clint for the kind acts, the Irish man refused to take it.
Dominique said that the selfless acts meant so much to her father, so, if possible, she wanted to figure out exactly where that town was even though her father never shared the town’s name.
She only had a few photos from his trip, including a picture of the kind stranger and his mother.
Armed with little to help her search, she decided to ask the women in the Girls LOVE Travel Facebook group to see if any world travelers recognized the landmarks in her father’s photographs.
“I know this is a long shot but i need your help ladies! I’m going to Ireland to spread my dad’s ashes next week,” she wrote in the group. She explained how much the kind acts of the stranger meant to her father and asked if anyone knew where the three photos she had were taken.
Another member of the group, Mara Sta, creatively used an account on Tinder, a dating app, to ask people in the area if they recognized any landmarks in the photos provided by Dominique.
It didn’t take long before an Irish local was able to tell Mara that the photos were taken in Kilmallock, a town just outside of Limerick.
After updating the women’s group and telling them that she had found the town, another member of the GLT Facebook group said that she had family there. She reached out to them and was able to locate Clinton Kiernan and put him in contact with Dominique.
Dominique said that she felt “overwhelming love and happiness and shock at how it all happened!” Clinton’s family, as well as others from the small village, added Dominique on Facebook and expressed how excited they were.
So on March 8, 2019, Dominique flew into Dublin, met the Kiernans and was able to spread her dad’s ashes both off of the Cliffs of Moher and in Kilmallock with the family that had shown him an unbelievable amount of kindness.
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Dominique was able to spend time with the Kiernans and understand firsthand why they left such a big impression on her father.
“You don’t often hear about the beauty of humanity and how kind and beautiful people can be,” she told Liftable.
“The Kiernans are stunning people and i feel so lucky to have gotten to know them and spend time with them. They made me feel so welcome and like I’d known them my whole life.”
It’s an opportunity that she may not have had if the community of women travelers in the GLT Facebook group hadn’t helped her so much.
“This group of strong, beautiful, intelligent, independent bad a– women rallied together to help me find the village and then find Clinton,” she said. “What a whirlwind!”
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