The family of Duncan Browne have raised thousands of pounds in his memory
Michael Carter, Noel, Tony, Adam and Alisha Browne and Thomas Lang have organised countless events in Duncan’s memory(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The family of a man who died after being attacked at a taxi rank have vowed to keep his memory alive. Duncan Browne, from Kirkby, was assaulted on Hanover Street as he waited for a taxi on July 4, 2021. The 23-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital the following day.
Michael McLoughlin, of Torus Road, Old Swan, was jailed for nine years and four months for manslaughter after attacking Duncan with a “catastrophic injury punch”. Terrence Kerwin, who also hit Duncan as he tried to get into a black cab, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for assault causing actual bodily harm.
Some of Duncan’s family met up last week in Liverpool city centre to celebrate his life and plan for their next wave of fundraising events in his memory.
When asked what Duncan was like, family member Noel Browne, 52, from Kirkby, laughed and said: “I remember when we first went on holiday with him to Alcudia. He was a crying little git but he grew up into a fantastic human being.
“He had time for everyone. At the funeral, a few people were saying, ‘I’d want my son to be like Duncan Browne.’ He was just a nice, genuine person.”
Tributes were left to Duncan at the scene of the attack(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He added: “My mum died just a little bit before Duncan did. She died of leukaemia. Obviously that’s very hard, but with things like that, you go through a process and you steel yourself.
“It’s a lot easier to accept. When it was our Duncan, I remember waking up to that bad news and we all met at the Walton Centre where he was. It was just a big shock to the family. It was really hard to take.”
Alisha Browne, from Kirkby, said: “When something happens to someone you know as they get older, you can understand that. But when someone’s taken away from you, it’s so hard to accept.”
Tony Browne, from Kirkby, added: “We’re all cousins. It’s the hardest thing any of us have had to go through. So when you think about what his mum and dad had to go through, I can’t even imagine.”
Duncan Browne, 23, died after being attacked in the city centre(Image: Twitter)
Duncan’s generosity was summed up by his willingness to become an organ donor before his death, later labelled his grandad John as his ‘final act’. Noel said: “That’s what sort of lad he was. He was 23 and he was already thinking about other people rather than himself.”
In the last few years, his family have ensured the values that Duncan stood for will never be forgotten through an incredible number of fundraising events under the banner of Doing It Duncan. They have raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Walton Centre, a UK-leading neurological hospital in Fazakerley.
Last year, 10 family members and friends of Duncan travelled the full length of the Leeds Liverpool canal using five inflatable canoes, raising over £10,000 which provided new equipment for the hospital.
Some of Duncan Browne’s family members met up last week(Image: Liverpool Echo)
There was also a golf day and the Debee Festival, a family-friendly music event which honours Duncan’s love of live gigs on the site of Activate in Kirkby, a charity that provides personalised educational and vocational programmes for young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. This year, the family plan to continue raising money for The Walton Centre, as well as Activate and other vital local causes.
This will be done through the golf day and festival as well as a huge 130-mile coast-to-coast walk from Hull back to Liverpool, averaging just under a marathon a day over six days.
Tony said: “The reason we do this is for Duncan’s mum and dad. They get so much pride out of us doing this and that’s what keeps me going.”
They will finish at the new Everton stadium at Bramley-Moore dock, where the family have bought an engraved granite stone in his memory. Noel said: “It’ll be a poignant moment. It’s called a forever stone for a reason.
“It wouldn’t happen without any of us. We all pulled together because we’re keeping Duncan’s name alive. The byproduct is raising money for charity. At the festival, we celebrate his life.” You can find out more about the walk here or the wider work of Doing it for Duncan here.