05/10/2026
Goodbye Andrew Beattie ❤️
We are all shocked and so incredibly sad. Far too early for you to leave us.
Andrew was a great mentor to so many. Without him, the world, and the sky, would be a lot less colourful.
We met a long, long time ago on Dollymount Beach for a kite festival. At the time, I had absolutely no idea what giant kites were. Then Andrew arrived in his huge, impressive white van…
He asked me:
“Have you checked with the airport if we can fly high here?”
I replied:
“How high exactly are you planning…?”
No time for an answer. His pilot kite was already 400m high, and then he opened his giant manta ray and all those other fascinating, gigantic animals…
From that day, everything changed for me. Andrew taught me everything I know (a little!) about those incredible kites and how to fly them. He was always so generous, so funny… and also very grumpy sometimes! 😂 Don’t mess with his bunting hahaha.
Andrew came back to Ireland a few times. One memorable event was in Oughterard, wonderful place, but possibly the worst place ever to fly giant kites! A tiny football pitch with trees everywhere. But when Andrew was there, you could be sure it would fly.
I have so many memories of him, but one in particular: Andrew (and he was a BIG guy )literally flying through the air, hanging onto the line, with me and Mark trying to hold him down, all of us screaming:
“WE NEED MORE WEIGHT!!!” 😂
With Andrew, it was always an adventure.
Years passed and we hadn’t seen each other for a while. Then, by magic, Andrew managed to visit us during the very special .
We were all together again, with so many of the people he had inspired over the years. A bit like the Godfather of giant kites ❤️
We will cherish those moments with you, Kathleen and Kate forever.
Without you, Andrew, there wouldn’t have been all these events, all this magic, or all those smiles on people’s faces.
Your legacy goes way beyond the sky.
Keep flying around up there. ❤️🪁
Thank you so much for everything you brought into our lives and everything you shared with us.
Fly high, Andrew. 🌈
