Brian Stephen McCabe's Obituary
Brian McCabe, 61, of Palm Harbor, Florida, went to join our family and friends with God in Heaven on Friday, June 2, 2023, following a long and courageous battle with illness. Brian’s soul left his body jamming out to one of his favorites, U2’s Beautiful Day, surrounded by family and the incredible team at Tampa General’s Medical ICU.
If you ever heard him speak, you knew Brian wasn’t from around these parts. Born in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin on January 15, 1962, to his parents Michael and Anne “Carmel” McCabe, he grew up in the same house where his parents still live in Raheny alongside his beloved siblings–two brothers, Michael and Gary, and sister Susan, and from all the stories he’s shared, their family home was a happy one filled regularly with uncles, aunts, and many cousins. And the family traveled regularly, and his most favorite trips with them were to Spain. His final trip with his family to Spain was in January 2020.
At 16, Brian began an almost 4 decade long career in the restaurant and hospitality industry, training to become a chef. He first worked at the Marine Hotel in Sutton, Dublin, and later trained in Stuttgart, Germany, before returning to Ireland. He worked in a variety of restaurants and catering facilities across Dublin to include fine dining, hospitals, and for a long time, with Sutcliffe Catering. In 1995, he earned an award for the Best Decorated Cake in Ireland–a competition he was thrilled to win so that he could earn a photo with Jackie Charlton, the Coach for Ireland’s World Cup Team.
One of Brian’s seminal career moments was at the Trade Management Institute where he was proud to serve students from across the world as well as their respective Ambassadors, and he learned many lessons from his mentor there, Chuck Feeney, that he applied throughout his career, enabling him to emigrate to the US where he opened his own businesses in Florida–McCabe’s Cafe of Clearwater and McCabe’s Restaurant of Palm Harbor, which he owned and ran from 1999-2014, before joining his daughter, Karina, and son-in-law Charlie (Ret-USAF) in the real estate industry, one of his many other passions. Brian loved to speak to everyone of his children. His daughter, Niamh, owns a private therapy practice and son-in-law George is a manager at Boeing. His son Conor is a rising senior at Notre Dame University, and his son Thomas is a rising junior at University of Central Florida. His sons followed him in his passion of playing soccer.
Brian was an optimist, a dreamer and a life-long learner, and he credited his parents for opening his mind to the possibilities that life could offer through travel and teaching him to be open to new ideas. These traits allowed Brian to sit and chat with anyone he encountered, and he could deeply connect with people. Over the past week, we’ve heard hundreds of people share how conversations with Brian–the eternal storyteller–gave them hope, advice, and encouragement as well as lots and lots of laughter because Brian was hilarious, even if you couldn’t always understand his jokes!
Brian settled in Bray in the late 1980s where he played soccer, supported the Bray Wanderers, made many friends, and raised two daughters–Karina (1985) and Niamh (1989) with his former wife, Valerie, before migrating to Florida in 1999 where they had two sons–Conor (2002) and Thomas (2003). Eventually, Brian–who remained a proud Irish citizen to the end–also became a proud US citizen.
Brian loved listening to music–soft pop, rock and Irish rebel songs. If you want to feel connected to Brian, you can join us in listening along to a playlist of some of his favorites (and a few we thought he’d like) on Amazon’s Playlist under “Dad’s Playlist - June 2023. Brian McCabe.” Link here: https://music.amazon.com/my/playlists/d12d5317-481b-4b70-a061-64232f9ca8a5
BRIAN’S FAMILY
Brian was the son of Michael and Anne “Carmel” McCabe
Brother of:
Michael and his wife Carol McCabe
Susan and her husband Colin McGovern
Gary and his wife Helen McCabe
And his many nieces and nephews (Declan, Darragh, Maebh, Alison, Donal, Cormac)
With former wife, Valerie Jo Slater McCabe, Father of:
Karina Anne McCabe and her husband Charlie Gafford
Niamh Louise and her husband George Hughes
Conor Thomas Michael McCabe
Thomas Dylan McCabe
And his many grandchildren (Dillon, Rylee, Michael, Scarlett, Grace, Gabriel, Declan)
And Brian’s In-Laws: Thomas and Rose Slater (RIP), Patrick Slater (RIP), Hughie Slater (RIP),
Marie and her husband Anthony Phillips, Elizabeth and her husband Carmine Vinaccia, Colette Slater (RIP), Martin and his wife Sarah Slater
And his many nieces and nephews (Ben, Thomas, Nicoletta, Patrick, Christopher, Roisin, Sarah)
Brian is survived by his beloved Fiancé Dianne D’Ambrosio, and children (Frankie and his wife Danielle, Johnny, and Denielle and her husband Joe), grandchildren (Noah, Nick, Lennon, Angelina, Kayla, and August), one great grandchild, and Dianne’s brother and sisters and nephews and nieces whom he was looking forward to becoming his family-in-law, too. Together, they were devoted to the many friends they shared.
“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
~ An Irish Blessing
FUNERARY CEREMONIES
A 3-day wake in accordance with Irish tradition was held from Saturday, June 3-Monday, June 5.
Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, June 10th at 10:30 AM
St Peter the Apostle Church
12747 Interlaken Rd
Trinity, FL 34655
Interment immediately after at 11:30 AM (0.2 miles away)
Trinity Memorial Gardens - Cemetery
12609 Memorial Drive
Trinity, FL 34655
Bagpipes to play at graveside
Reception to Follow
Trinity Memorial Funeral Home (adjacent to the Cemetery)
2 hours - H’or d'oeuvres and beverages served
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
~ McCabe Family
In lieu of flowers, if you would like to contribute to Brian’s memory, the family is requesting donations in his honor to Toys for Tots. Brian LOVED Christmas and making people happy, and one of Brian’s big goals when he got well was to be able to bring Christmas gifts to children who wouldn’t otherwise receive them.
What’s your fondest memory of Brian?
What’s a lesson you learned from Brian?
Share a story where Brian's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Brian you’ll never forget.
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