Yesteryears: Full scale murder hunt underway in Clonmel for brutal killer

“Gardaí hunt brutal killer” screamed the front page headline in our issue from 25 years ago, dated November 1, 1997.
A full-scale murder hunt was underway in Clonmel after a man was bludgeoned to death in a laneway (running behind former offices of The Nationalist and Chadwicks) near his home, the second killing in 15 months in the town, our report stated.

A 41-year-old man was found in a pool of blood in a laneway, linking St Oliver Plunket Terrace, where he lived and Heywood Road at 7.20am on a Sunday morning.

Described as an “inoffensive and harmless” man, widely known in the town, his brutal murder caused a great deal of revulsion everywhere, and Supt Dick Bourke, who was leading the investigation, vowed to use “every facility” available to the gardaí to bring the investigation to a successful conclusion.

In July of the previous year (1996) the body of a man was also found in a field located a short distance away, and a local man was subsequently charged with his murder.

Yesteryears! Thirty men hospitalised after ammonia leak at plant in Tipperary

Take a look back!

Also on the front page that week we reported that members of Clonmel Fire Brigade were attacked when they tried to put out a bonfire at The Wilderness. Stones and planks of wood were thrown at the firemen as they entered the area after receiving a call. Two firemen were struck but neither of them were hurt in the incident.

It was not the first time that members of the Clonmel Brigade had come under attack. According to the Fire Brigade spokesman, other incidents where stones were thrown at firemen took place earlier that year in other areas of the town.
The provision of Clonmel’s first Third Level college moved a step closer that week with approval from the Government of £1 million to purchase a site.

Government approval for the purchase of the campus site on the bypass opposite Clonmel Óg GAA grounds, was a major step towards the provision of the facility in Clonmel. It was announced jointly by Minister of State Noel Davern and Defence Minister Michael Smith.