Murdered taxi-driver was a 'gentle giant'

A taxi driver knifed to death in the North was the victim of a horrendous crime, his manager said today.

Stiofan Loughran (aged 41), was stabbed yards from his Third Avenue home on the Derrybeg Estate in the border city of Newry, Co Down.

His boss at Clanrye Cab Company, Kieran Dooley, said he was a gentle giant who would not say boo to a goose.

“He was a big lump of a fella, a quiet fella who was 100% at his job,” he said.

“He would have been friendly with everybody. I can’t understand it, it is beyond me. It wasn’t like him even to be involved in a fight.”

The father-of-four was taken to the Daisy Hill Hospital after the attack last night but died later.

Detectives, who believe he was stabbed at least twice, were investigating claims that Mr Loughran may have intervened in a row.

Another theory is that Mr Loughran may have died after confronting someone who allegedly assaulted his son.

The scene of the killing was closed off as forensic experts searched for clues.

Public representatives told how the whole community had been stunned by the murder.

SDLP councillor Frank Feeley said: “We thought that these group of murders were behind us in Newry and we had seen the last of it.

“It shows you what can happen when someone with the very best of intentions can be murdered in this way.”

Sinn Féin representative Marian Mathers said Mr Loughran, his wife, Teresa, and their children had lived in the area for some time.

“He was a very quiet, hard-working, family man.

“People are in shock. This is an awful tragedy for the whole family.”

Before he became a taxi driver he worked as a photographer with his local newspaper, the Newry Democrat.

Reporter Donal O’Reilly described him as a perfect colleague.

“He always had a smile on his face and a good word for everybody,” Mr O’Reilly said.