A FIRE in a west Limerick boat club has revived speculation over the mysterious death of a 23 year old man two years ago.
Gardai at Askeaton are investigating arson at Deel Boat Club. They believe that the fire, which they say was minor, and the death of a local man, Mr Ger Braddish, are not linked. They say it is a coincidence that last week's incident occurred on the second anniversary of Mr Braddish's disappearance on the night of November 19th-20th, 1994.
His body was found in the river Deel. At the time windows were broken in the clubhouse and oars removed, and two punts moored at the nearby jetty were found on the opposite bank.
The young man's jacket, glasses and wallet were found on a launch moored offshore, and his body was found downstream from the clubhouse.
The chairman of the Deel Boat Club, Mr Cyril Ryan, disagreed in the Limerick Leader yesterday with, the Garda conclusion that the fire, was minor. He claimed that the only reason the wooden building did not ignite into a fireball was that the fire caused a pipe to burst releasing water.
He revealed that a punt adjacent to the clubhouse had been moved, one of the same boats that was sent floating across the river two years ago.
He alleged: "All we can say is that there is something really sinister going on here. There is constant illegal activity on the Deel.
"The only hindrances to this illegal activity were the gate to the slipway erected by the club and the lights on the jetty. That was why the attempt was made to burn us off the pier.
He claimed later that he had no doubt the area had become an entry point for drugs, pointing out that the Deel was a connecting point with the Shannon Estuary.
Meanwhile, several people have been questioned by gardai in connection with the death of Mr Braddish, but no charges have been preferred.
The dead man's mother Mrs Therese Braddish, said yesterday that she wanted to get to the truth of the matter and would go on searching for it until the mystery was solved.