13 January 1999

HOUSE TO HOUSE ENQUIRIES ON ISLAND

By TOM SHIEL

GARDAI have not ruled out a possible link between the unsolved raid which resulted in the death of elderly Charlestown draper Eddie Fitzmaurice last year and the attack last Friday morning on the Parish Priest of Achill Island, Fr. Paddy Gilligan.

Money was the motive for both crimes and both men were tied up, Mr. Fitzmaurice to a chair and Fr. Gilligan to the head and foot of his bed.

Mr. Fitzmaurice, an 83 year old, tried in vain to raise the alarm by dragging himself to a front bedroom before succumbing to hypothermia.

Fr. Gilligan, by contrast, is a fit man in the prime of life and managed after the raiders had left to wriggle free from the bonds- pieces of telephone wire and clothesline- which were shackling him to his bed.

As Garda Chiefs met in Conference yesterday (Tuesday) in Westport to review progress on the Achill raid, one of the theories being explored was that the Charlestown and Achill Sound incidents may be linked.

SIMILARITIES

"There are similarities in that both men were tied up", a security source indicated to the Connaught Telegraph. "Money was the objective in both robberies. The only difference in the cases is that one victim was able to free himself, the other wasn't".

Gardai have carried out house to house questioning in Achill Sound in order to determine whether any suspicious activity was detected in the hours before and after the raid on Fr. Gilligan and in the days leading up to the robbery.

They are particularly anxious to determine the type of vehicle which the gang used and to obtain descriptions of the three, or four, masked individuals involved. Meanwhile, the attack on Fr. Gilligan and other crimes in Mayo has prompted Fine Gael Justice spokesperson Deputy Jim Higgins to complain strongly about the physical withdrawal of Gardai from rural stations.

"It's almost an invitation to raiders", Deputy Higgins commented.

REDUCTION

Apart from the reduction in Garda numbers, 15 Garda stations in Mayo no longer have a Sergeant in charge. These are: Ballyvary, Ballycroy, Glenisland, Bellacorick, Tourmakeady Glenamoy, Ballycastle, Hollymount, Bonniconlon, Cong, Lahardane, Ballindine, Blacksod, Kilkelly, Mulranny, Keel and Newport.

Deputy Higgins also raised the question of the low qualifying threshold for Social Welfare. For a single person, the first £2,000 is clear but from £2,000 to £20,000 it is assessed at 7.5 per cent. From £22,000 upwards, the assessment is 15 per cent.

"Once you go above £2,000 savings you begin to lose the pension", the Deputy stated. "This is a clear deterrent to people to put money in safe deposits and an incentive for them to hoard money at home".

Connaught Telegraph - News & Sport - January 1999