Gardai in Co Sligo said last night they were following "all lines of inquiry" after the murder of a well-known community activist in the village of Monasteraden yesterday morning.
It is believed that Terry Madden (51) was shot in both legs as he got into his car in the driveway behind his house at 8 a.m. His wife raised the alarm but he was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor.
Mr Madden was a native of the area and was involved in a number of community organisations. He worked as the manager of the Monasteraden Resource Co-op and was also on the board of the Sligo Leader Partnership Company. Within the past year, he had also joined the board of the lobby group the Council For The West.
It is believed that Mr Madden was getting into his car when he was attacked. Insp Michael Barrett, who is leading the murder investigation, said he could only confirm that Mr Madden had suffered wounds to his lower body. He said there were reports of two shots being heard in the area at the time of the attack.
Reports at the scene suggested that a shotgun was used in the attack and that Mr Madden was shot in both legs. There were also reports of two men running from the house after the attack. Late yesterday evening, Mr Madden's body remained at the scene as gardai awaited the arrival of the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy. A post-mortem examination will be carried out today. members has been assembled and A special incident room was set up at Gurteen Garda station.
Extra telephone lines were installed at the station yesterday and an investigation conference was attended by Assistant Commissioner Mr Kevin Carty. Insp Barrett appealed for information from anybody who had seen anything in the area in the hours before the attack or in recent days and weeks. House-tohouse inquiries were carried out throughout the day. Mr Madden's wife, Margaret, had to be brought to hospital shortly after the shooting. The couple have three grown-up children. At the scene yesterday, a Garda tent was erected around the car where Mr Madden was gunned down. It had been parked at the back of the family's dormer bungalow. In addition to his other community activities, Mr Madden was also the chairman of the local Area Group Water Scheme. It emerged at a meeting of Sligo County Council last week that the scheme owed the council £39,500, which it had failed to pay despite repeated requests.
Mr Madden was later interviewed on local radio and said that there had been difficulties collecting the money from residents after local authority water charges were abolished in 1997. He strongly denied any misappropriation of funds.
Gardai have appealed for anyone who might have information helpful to the investigations to contact them at 071-82560 or 07182307.