‘You could see he was loved and respected’
By Hayden Moore
A LOCAL filmmaker has created a short documentary, called Starboy, with the family of Kyle Finnegan Hooper in a bid to raise awareness around asthma.
Kyle had asthma since he was four years old, and even though an inhaler was used he sadly succumbed to an asthma attack in September 2018 at the age of 12.
Kyle Finnegan Hooper
Fettercairn native Dean Kavanagh knew Kyle since he was a baby, growing up with his father Alan.
Kavanagh, initially as part of an assignment for college, wanted to make a short documentary for Kyle’s parents Alan and Joanne.
“I grew up with Alan, his da and I’ve known Kyle since he was only a baby,” Kavanagh tells The Echo.
“It all just started off as a project in college, we we’re pitching based on stories that were out there and I just came up with this.
“I just wanted to make something small for Alan and Joanne.”
Following his graduation with a degree in Creative Digital Media from TU Dublin – Tallaght Campus last year, Dean decided he would follow through with creating the entire short documentary after his assignment was cut short due to Covid-19.
Speaking about the need to raise awareness around asthma, Kavanagh (29) explained that the dangers of inhaler overuse needs to more commonly known.
“I have a son with asthma,” says Dean.
“Studies have been done more recently about Ventolin and the way overusing those inhalers can affect you, the right time to take it and so on.
“I didn’t even know about that beforehand, so the main thing with this documentary was raise awareness around asthma.”
Kyle brought his blue inhaler everywhere with him, including to his football matches, to help alleviate any symptoms at the onset of an asthma attack.
Joanne, Kyle’s mam, speaks candidly about the day Kyle passed away in Starboy.
“He was wheezy for a few days and I was giving him his inhalers and he went to school, he was grand,” Joanne says in the short documentary, which is available on YouTube.
“I went over then and collected him because he had a half-day that day on Friday and I dropped him over to [Alan’s] ma’s and I went to work.
“And then, I got the phone call just saying that Kyle was after collapsing so I blew straight out of work and got over there.
“He was just about dead, but he was still alive, and I only put him into my arms and got to the top of the road, and he died.”
Kyle’s passing touched many, with the community rallying behind the Finnegan Hooper family.
Staff at the local chipper in Springfield, Roma Takeway, raised over €800 for the family.
Boxers Tyson Fury, Billie Joe Saunders, Jono Carroll and Paddy Barnes, Liverpool legends Stephen Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and loads more sent their condolences to the Finnegan Hooper family following his passing.
Rapper Bugzy Malone made a tribute freestyle rap for ‘little Kyle’ and invited his family to his show in Dublin.
As mentioned in the Starboy documentary, Kyle’s family requested that people attending his funeral wore a Manchester United jersey and if they had a motorbike, to bring it along.
The young boy’s funeral was held a week after his passing in the Church of Incarnation, Fettercairn, with his coffin painted in Manchester United colours.
Kyle was a passionate footballer and football fan, who togged out for Shamrock Rovers, Jobstown Celtic and Kilnamanagh during his time.
Supporting Manchester United, Kyle was also a regular in the East Stand of Tallaght Stadium supporting Shamrock Rovers, with manager Stephen Bradley among the contributors to the Starboy documentary.
“I just remember the amount of young people there, it was unbelievable,” Bradley, a Jobstown native, says in the 25-minute-long film.
“You could see he was loved and respected by so many which is great to see.
“Then we saw all the bikes and all the scramblers, and obviously that was a big part of Kyle’s life as well.”
Starboy is available to watch now on YouTube: HERE.
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