News

The date for popular Big Issue vendor Paul Kelly’s funeral has been confirmed

The tragic 50-year-old Glasgow seller was found dead outside his home on June 15

Paul Kelly

The funeral for much-loved Big Issue vendor Paul Kelly will be held tomorrow.

He will be laid to rest with a graveside service at St Conval’s Cemetery in Barrhead at 10am on July 23. Paul’s family have made it clear that all are welcome and have also asked that anyone wishing to make a donation, should make it to homelessness charity Shelter.

The 50-year-old was found dead outside his home in the Kingswood area of Glasgow following a violent attack.

Since Paul’s tragic death, The Big Issue has been inundated with tributes from his regular customers and passers-by who he touched with his ‘Don’t be shy, give it a try. I don’t bite’ catchphrase on his pitch outside Sainsbury’s on Buchanan Street in Glasgow.

He also received a mention in Scottish parliament, thanks to a motion from MSP Monica Lennon, and graced the cover of the Scottish edition of The Big Issue magazine in the week following his death.

The loss of Paul has shocked and saddened all at The Big Issue and we joined scores of his customers, Sainsbury’s staff and fellow vendors on his pitch for a vigil in his memory on June 24.

As editor Paul McNamee noted in his own tribute to the popular vendor: “It just feels odd and it feels sad and a little darker that Paul Kelly isn’t in this world.”

Support your local Big Issue vendor

If you can’t get to your local vendor every week, subscribing directly to them online is the best way to support your vendor. Your chosen vendor will receive 50% of the profit from each copy and the rest is invested back into our work to create opportunities for people affected by poverty.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
Emilia Clarke: 'Hospitals will fix your brain, but the recovery process will save you'
emilia clarke
Big Issue Recruit

Emilia Clarke: 'Hospitals will fix your brain, but the recovery process will save you'

DWP warned benefit claimants face 'poor customer service' and 'long waiting times'
dwp
BENEFITS

DWP warned benefit claimants face 'poor customer service' and 'long waiting times'

What is the Renters' Rights Bill? All you need to know about Labour’s plan to end no-fault evictions
Protesters from the London Renters Union protest high rents in May 2024
RENTING

What is the Renters' Rights Bill? All you need to know about Labour’s plan to end no-fault evictions

Olympics 2024: Fury as homelessness 'swept under the rug' and rough sleepers removed from Paris
Paris 2024 Olympics

Olympics 2024: Fury as homelessness 'swept under the rug' and rough sleepers removed from Paris

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know