Murder hunt after man shot dead

“WE are absolutely devastated by this tragedy because what has happened is a complete mystery to the family.” These were the words of heartbroken Ray Poland after his 39-year-old brother Seán was shot dead when he opened the door of his home to thieves on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s an awful start to the new year. We can’t believe it because Seán did no harm to anyone and was a

happy-go-lucky man,” said Ray, who lives with his wife and family a short distance from the scene of the murder in Blackwater, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare. The victim, who was not married, was living with his partner Joanne Lyons (nee Joyce) in a yellow bungalow adjacent to where he ran a second-hand car business. A murder hunt has been launched for the killers of Mr Poland and gardaí believe robbery may have been the motive for his death.

“We are appealing for full public co-operation in helping to bring the killers to justice,” said Superintendent t Willie Keane of Henry Street Station in Limerick. Seán Poland, described by neighbours as a quiet and popular man had been celebrating New Year’s Eve with Ms Lyons when there was a knock on his front door.

According to gardaí, when Mr Poland opened the door at about 11.30pm, he was confronted by a number of men wearing balaclavas and he was shot in the lower body.

“The culprits entered the sitting room of the house and confronted Mr Poland’s partner and demanded money. They tied up the victim’s partner and left the house with a sum of money,” said Supt Keane. Gardaí insisted this isolated murder in a rural part of Co Clare, five miles from Limerick City, has no connection of any kind with the feuding in the Limerick area or with any previous incidents in the locality.

“We believe the motive for this killing was robbery and a full murder hunt is underway,” said Supt Keane. “We are following a number of lines of inquiry and we are particularly anxious to hear from anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity in the Blackwater, Ardnacrusha area between 11pm and 12am on New Year’s Eve.” Extensive house-to-house inquiries were being carried out yesterday by gardaí as the murder scene was sealed off for members of the Garda Technical Bureau to carry out a detailed forensic examination of the scene. A post mortem examination was also carried out by the State pathologist. Neighbours and residents living in the quiet and peaceful area were trying to come to terms with the murder. One neighbour, Christy Hickey, a retired ESB operator at Ardnacrusha, said: “The local people are shocked and numbed by this terrible tragedy. Seán Poland was a quiet, popular man, who went about his business selling second-hand cars. The country has gone to hell with all the killings in recent years and something drastic will have to be done,” Mr Hickey added.

Parteen parish priest Liam Kelly, who was viciously assaulted and stabbed nine times in 1998 when two intruders broke into his house, extended his deepest sympathy to the family and relatives of the dead victim. The last murder in Clare occurred on October 21, 2001, when 19-year-old Lorraine O’Connor, from Ennis, was found dead in an apartment at Fergus Row, Ennis. Gardaí in Limerick are also currently investigating the murder of 34-year-old father-of-two Brian Fitzgerald, a nightclub head of security, who was gunned down near his home in Corbally last month as he was returning home from work.