Mayor calls for return of death penalty for child-killers

THE mayor of Midleton has called for the reintroduction of the death penalty for anybody found guilty of killing a child.

Ted Murphy said he hoped gardaí quickly catch whoever murdered Robert Holohan, because he feared they could kill again.

"He (Robert) was a young child who never harmed anybody and was picked up by a monstrous creep," Mr Murphy said.

He added that the mood in the town and surrounding areas was one of devastation.

"Four-year-olds up are feeling it. Their parents are afraid now to leave them out. We have four primary schools in Midleton and a number of pre-schools. I met a teacher who knows the family well and she was crying her head off."

The mayor, who said he knew the Holohan family very well, said he hadn't visited them to offer his sympathy because he didn't want to intrude while they were grieving.

During the searches, he went out every day. "I went out on my own. As chairman of St Coleman's Gun Club, I know all the area very well," the mayor said.

Mr Murphy praised gardaí, who he said were doing all they could. He said he was also confident they would catch those responsible.

"Regardless of that, this town will never get back to where it was," he said.

Mick Bolger, a garda sergeant who spent 28 of his 31 years in the force in Midleton, said he didn't necessarily believe the murder was carried out by a local.

"The mood at the moment is parents' fear for their children," he said.

"Of all the incidents in this area this is the worst because there's a child involved. It's not that other incidents weren't horrible, but this is extreme."

He said he believed people had their suspicions and must come forward to help. "It takes just that one little piece of the jigsaw."

Because Midleton is a relatively small town about 9,000 people live there Mr Bolger said he believes the killer will be caught.

"Time is running out for this individual. The resolve of the community and the work of the gardaí will win out in the end," he said.

County councillor Maurice Ahern, who lives less than half-a-kilometre from the Holohan family home, said he believed the killer was local, or somebody who knew the terrain well.

"There was hope that Robert would be found safe and well. There is now sorrow for him and his family that this has come to a desperately tragic end. The mood of people had turned to anger. Somebody knows," he said.

The councillor, who said he has known the family all his life and once worked with Robert's grandfather, said he was sickened by what had happened.

"Whoever carried out this atrocity could still be in the area. My personal view is it has to be a local," Mr Ahern said.

His brother, Trade and Commerce Minister Michael Ahern, spent two days searching.

"The worst thing that can happen to a parent is to lose a child and to lose a child under these tragic circumstances adds enormously to the burden of sorrow on the parents," Michael Ahern said.

"My heart goes out to Mark and Majella and their family at this most difficult time."