One of the Irish tech community’s most respected investors, London-based Eamonn Carey has been in the thoughts of his friends and colleagues lately after he became seriously ill while at the Web Summit in Lisbon. Well wishes have been pouring out as he begins his recovery in Portugal.

Carey’s reach is far and wide due to his deep connections throughout his career in the world of tech start-ups and investing. He’s a general partner with Estonian-based Tera Ventures, a lifeblood of the Techstars community, an author, and a speaker while also loving his time in the kitchen.

Having heard people speak favourably about Carey, a few years ago I was lucky to finally meet him at a dinner in Lisbon, where I spent the whole evening flooding him with questions, picking his brains about his time as a journalist at RTÉ and his experiences as an investor, all of which he was very gracious to answer. That is the measure of Eamonn; he seems to have time for everyone.

The first piece of advice he gave me that night was: “Don’t bring clothes from Ireland for the Estonian weather, get them there, they know how to prepare for winter.” I was discussing this wild idea I had to move to the Baltics to check out their tech ecosystem, of which, of course, he has first-hand experience. I am glad to say I’ve survived two winters out here on his insider knowledge.

Since then I’ve used the connection to my advantage. If I’m thinking of making a media move or want to know which media is creating the best tech content, I slide into his DMs and hit him with a leading question, and he always gets back to me. He has inadvertently become someone I go to for advice, whether he knows it or not.

And as it happens, my neighbour in Tallinn is a big fan, too, Marko Klopets’ company Supersimple is a Tera Ventures portfolio company. 

Discussing Eamonn with Marko today he said: “He’s one of our earliest supporters as a company. Since then, I’ve been lucky to have him turn into a great friend instead, with our weekly catch-ups being some of the most fun calls I have all week – and that’s not to mention the usefulness of talking shop and gleaning insights from his war stories.”

This is who Eamonn is; he’s so generous with his advice and time, a much-loved member of the tech community worldwide and this can be clearly seen by the reactions, reposts and comments on TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher’s post on LinkedIn.

Some of his community shared their thoughts and well wishes for his speedy recovery with me today:

Connor Murphy, founder of Bridge said: “Eamonn has been at the heart of Techstars in Europe for several years. He lives and breathes the Techstars core value of #GiveFirst and has helped hundreds of founders all over the world. Eamonn genuinely cares and connects with people. A real gent and someone you want to always work with.”

According to Paul Hayes, founder of Beachhut PR: “Well I can give no higher compliment than when I couldn’t go to SXSW to do a Start-up Wake, Eamonn stepped in as the priest for me as he had helped put one in London and was up for the craic. Always open to people and helpful just for the sake of it.”

Noel Toolan, CEO of Katalest, said: “One of the nicest most authentic people I’ve been lucky to spend some time with. Met Eamonn recently in Tallinn for a quick catch-up drink – it was fun, informative, inspiring but in such a grounded way and as always with Eamonn, respectful. Was looking forward to tasting wine with him in Lisbon but missed that. Looking forward to reconnecting soon – hurry back Eamo!”

Eamon Leonard, co-founder of Baseline, added: “As a founder, investor, and community contributor, Eamonn has consistently shown his commitment to founders by helping them unpack the challenges that come with creating something out of nothing. Over the years, I’ve heard from countless other founders about what he has done or is doing, often more behind the scenes than what he might talk publicly about, and I think that’s a high integrity bar that he has set. I believe the European ecosystem is better off because of it. There’s a lot of love out there for Eamonn, and I hope he, his wife and his family know and feel that now, and in the months and years ahead.”

According to Ben King, founder of Herd: “I can honestly say that Eamonn Carey is one of the five most impactful people in my life – and I’ve four parents! He was our first investor, joined our board after our first round and has helped to steer us through some of the biggest challenges over the last six years. During this time, he’s not just become the greatest source of counsel but one of my closest friends. However, the magnitude of his impact isn’t reflected in just my account.

“I could point you to dozens of people who would echo exactly the same. All of whom have come to love and respect him above almost anyone. In what can be a very superficial industry – there is nobody with more authenticity, empathy or humility than Eamonn Carey. While we are missing him hugely within our team, we can’t wait to have our friend back alongside us and his family.”

Andrus Oks, founding Partner at Tera Ventures, said: “We were shocked to hear about Eamonn at Web Summit but are glad that he was at least in the company of friends and received rapid treatment. Our focus now is supporting him with his recovery however we can, along with his wife Rachael and son Ned to get him back home to receive treatment back in the UK when he is able to make the journey. From the reaction of the whole investment community, especially Irish and Techstars ecosystems, it is clear that he is much cherished and loved.”

I met Eamonn in Tallinn recently at a Tera Venture’s office get-together, we were talking about running and how he was due to get in an early run the next day. I’m looking forward to his running stories when he gets back on his feet.

A large number of people have donated to a GoFundMe page that has been set up to help his family cover unexpected medical costs not paid for by insurance.