Probe focuses on caller who claimed man was tied up
The caller claimed a man was tied up in a house near a brown gate. No further details were given.
A Garda spokesman said: “Gardaí acted on this information and a member responded to the call and went to the house as described. They satisfied themselves that there was nothing untoward.
“Gardaí are liaising with phone companies in efforts to identify the identity of the caller.”
There is a brown gate close to Mr Gillespie’s house, linked to the home next door. It appears to be an entrance to both back gardens.
Gardaí were not revealing how close the 999 caller placed the house, but they agreed it was in Sligo town.
Meanwhile, gardaí carried out a number of searches in the Sligo town area yesterday.
Forensics detectives are hopeful prints from a pair of runners along with an examination of examples of blood from the scene could lead to a breakthrough.
Mr Gillespie, aged 67, was brutally assaulted in his home, and left with head injuries and a broken jaw.
Gardaí say he was last seen at 9pm on Wednesday, the day before the mystery emergency call.
A lover of vintage cars, Mr Gillespie was a former Telecom Éireann employee and a former small grocery store owner.
He was discovered unconscious on Friday night in his home in Sligo’s Old Market St.
His hands were tightly tied behind his back with cable wire.
The Garda spokesman said they are “determined to find the perpetrators of this crime”.
Melbourne-based former Sligo businessman Declan Foley, a close friend of Mr Gillespie, and neighbours have set up a reward fund. An account has been set up at Sligo credit union.
Barry O’Flynn, Sligo credit union manager, said: “Your stomach churns when you see some of the stuff that’s going on. The attack on Eugene was appalling. We in the credit union are only too happy to control the account for the community.”
* The Eugene Gillespie Memorial Account number is 22735.
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