People always say good things about someone after they’ve passed. They said them all along while Sean Kilbane was alive.
The co-owner of the Happy Dog and a beloved fixture in Cleveland’s music and nightlife scenes died early Sunday morning from injuries sustained after an accident in the West Side bar-club. He was 43.
“This is such a big loss and such a shock,” said Happy Dog co-owner Sean Watterson. “He was such a good friend. I can’t believe it.”
The accident occurred around 1 a.m., according to Watterson.
“He fell down the back stairs and it was a terrible fall and there wasn’t anything the paramedics could do,” said Watterson. “I wasn’t at the bar at the time, but I showed up with his parents and we were standing there in shock. I still am in shock.”
Kilbane was also a musician, playing most recently in Tadpole Jr. He loved bands such as the Replacements, which he traveled all the way to Toronto to see perform last year.
Kilbane’s enthusiasm for music never waned. He was a driving force in making the Happy Dog a premier music venue. Bands played for the entire take at the door, a musician-friendly practice that is uncommon in the bar scene.
“He loved music and loved taking care of bands and paying them and making them feel good,” said musician Brent Kirby, who played the Happy Dog regularly with bands such as the Jack Fords and New Soft Shoe. “He was so honest and trusting. He kept telling me that he wanted to turn the Euclid Tavern into a place for music and for people in bands. He really believed in supporting music.”
In November, the Happy Dog agreed to take over the Euclid Tavern and bring new life to the circa-1909 bar.
“Sean was the heart and soul of that project," said Watterson. "Like everything else at the Happy Dog."
The Happy Dog was closed on Sunday. It will remain closed on Monday.
“We’ll have to figure everything else out in the days to come,” said Watterson. “Everyone is too much in shock to think about anything but Sean.”
Kilbane, a St. Ignatius graduate, studied at Loyala University Chicago. Kilbane met Watterson at their first job out of college, as a broker at investment firm, Baker and Co. He is survived by his mother and father, Edward and V.A. Kilbane, sisters Katie and brothers Edward, Jr. and Patrick.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be determined.
“Everything at the Happy Dog ran through Sean,” said Watterson. “But he meant so much more than that. He was the nicest person to so many people.”
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