Murder leads gardaí to €200,000 heroin haul
The huge haul of heroin was found in open ground not far from where Mr Moran’s body was found at 1am on Monday.
A priest told mourners at the funeral Mass of Mr Moran yesterday that the killer had put himself into a world of death and shame.
The 26-year-old heroin addict was shot dead last Sunday night near his home in Southill after a clash with a local drug dealer. His body was found with gunshot wounds to the head on open ground near Ashe Avenue in John Carew Park in the early hours of last Monday morning.
Fr Pat Hogan, addressing a congregation at the Holy Family Church, said: “Whoever is responsible for Thomas’s death also died on Sunday night, because you cannot raise your hand against another person and take their life without putting yourself into the world of shame. Shame is a world of death.”
Mourners at yesterday’s small funeral Mass in Southill were led by Thomas Moran’s parents, Marie and Noel, and his brothers and sisters.
Directing his words at the killer, Fr Hogan said: “You have put a mark on your forehead that there is something that separates you from others.”
He spoke of the sense of despair and absence of hope in the Southill community, which has been plagued by violence and tragedy in recent years. “Those who were recovering from their own horrible brutal stories are reminded that nothing has changed. Those who work for this community, who have hope for it, are also shattered.”
Fr Hogan said he knew Thomas Moran and described him as a man who had goodness in him.
“There was no perfection in Thomas, no more than any of us. But there was a deep goodness in him, in his love for his family. He was someone’s son, someone’s brother,” said Fr Hogan.
He added: “I find it difficult to come to terms with the killing of somebody I know. So I cannot even begin to know what is like for his family.”
A man in his 30s who was arrested in connection with Thomas Moran’s murder was released yesterday without charge. The suspect had been held for questioning at Roxboro Road Garda Station for 48 hours under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
Gardaí confirmed that a file has been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Thomas Moran was shot dead last Sunday night and his body was found at around 1am on Monday. It is believed that a local drug dealer may have shot Mr Moran after an altercation.
Some local sources said that Mr Moran may have gone to a drugs dealer for a “fix” and became angry when the dealer refused to give him heroin as hedid not have enough money.
