Everyone in Trading Standards Service Northern Ireland (TSSNI) was shocked and deeply saddened by the news that our friend and colleague, Simon Keegan, passed away on Saturday 12 July 2025, aged just 49.
Simon Keegan: 1976-2025
Simon studied for the Consumer Protection degree in Manchester and then qualified and worked as an Inspector in England for a few years before moving home and joining TSSNI in March 2002.
He quickly assimilated into TSSNI, bringing personality, knowledge and even sartorial elegance to the Service (Simon was often dapperly dressed in a pinstripe suit with an accompanying briefcase and always looked the part!).
He worked in various roles in TSSNI for more than 23 years, moving from a Fair Trading complaints team to the regional Ballymena office until eventually finding his natural home in the legal metrology unit.
He contributed so much to the metrology area during his time in TSSNI and it is where he found his passion. He was a weights and measures man through and through, and many of us often marvelled at how Simon dressed in a pinstripe suit even to test scales in an abattoir or a dynamic axle weigher.
Simon was always willing to help mentor our trainee Inspectors and was involved in taking out so many new staff over the years to help them learn about metrology. He always enjoyed this role and was very genial and accommodating when helping trainees with their workbooks and portfolios. He was often the go-to person for metrology queries and we will sorely miss his knowledge and passion for weights and measures.
Simon had a great laugh and was always a great attender of social events. He loved going to the midweek quiz night with his Trading Standards colleagues and for many years never missed a CTSI conference. As the NI CTSI Branch Secretary, he was dedicated to the profession and he represented TSSNI with commitment and passion. He could often be seen holding court at the annual NI Branch dinners with the CTSI Chair and in later years he was active in representing NI at the CTSI College of Fellows.
Simon thrived when pondering over the complexities of how metrology would operate in NI in a post-EU exit era. We had many lengthy discussions on the NI Protocol and Simon was always engaging. It was obvious how much he loved researching the law. TSSNI staff would often go to metrology meetings in London and Simon would keep us right on technical queries – and the craic was always good.
Simon was a warm, caring and kind man. He was also very interesting and intelligent, with an opinion on most things. Everyone in TSSNI will have their own story about Simon and we will keep his memory alive by continuing to talk and reminisce about our dear colleague.
We will offer our support to his family and I know they would like to hear more about Simon from his friends and colleagues as they come to terms with the loss of their only son.
When Simon became unwell he was genuinely moved by the care and affection that so many of his friends and colleagues had for him.
We will miss Simon dearly. We will miss his great laugh, his love of weights and measures, his personality and we will miss Simon just being, well… Simon.
His is a life gone far too soon, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.
I trained with Simon in the East Riding of Yorkshire between 1998 and 2002. We shared a small office and a computer (which he wasn’t the greatest fan of!). He would regularly pace the (very small) office whilst putting his thoughts and opinions together! 😀
That alongside our long trips to Weston in his Fiat Punto and various nights out will always make me smile when I remember him!
A sad loss, but happy memories!