THE FAMILY of an Irish man shot dead in the United States at the weekend say they are hoping to bring his body back to his native town for burial.
Tom Walsh (43), originally from Templemore, Co Tipperary, was shot at point-blank range at the restaurant he helped to manage in Florida late on Saturday night. Local police are searching for his killer. Brian Walsh said yesterday they were now concentrating their efforts on bringing his brother home to Ireland for burial.
Mr Walsh was the youngest of eight children. His father died a number of years ago. His mother, Elizabeth Walsh, was told of the killing on Sunday evening.
Mr Walsh – who left home in 1994 to travel to Europe and then the US – was understood to have been counting the takings at the Mainstreet Grill restaurant in DeLand, near Daytona Beach, after it had closed for the evening when an armed raider burst in, shot him and escaped with a small amount of cash.
Mr Walsh was found after 11pm by an employee, but he was already dead. A memorial service will be held tomorrow at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Templemore, attended by his daughter, Kira (12); his ex-wife, Lisa Bennett; and his friends. His family in Ireland hope his body can be repatriated by the weekend.
“We just want to get him home because he would have wanted to be buried at home,” Brian Walsh said yesterday.
Mr Walsh regularly came home, always bringing Kira with him. Last summer he ran in an event organised by Templemore Athletic Club, of which he was a member before he emigrated.
“He was even collecting money on the gate for the club when he was back,” Brian Walsh recalled. “He was like that. It was like he was never away.”
Mr Walsh had spoken sometimes about returning to Ireland to live when his daughter was old enough to go to college, according to his brother. “He was the nicest guy you could ever meet, an absolute gentleman, an absolute all-round nice guy. He was really suited to the industry he was in because he was very good with people.”
Mr Walsh owned a computer business and managed the Mainstreet Grill part-time, having been one of the founder managers when it opened in 1996. The restaurant remained closed on Sunday but it was reopened the following day.
Its owners, Phil and Chantelle Martin, spoke of their shock. Ms Martin described him as a “great Irish uncle” to younger members of staff, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, and said he was like a mentor to employees.
“He was like a thread that wove in and out throughout the history of our restaurant,” she said. “He was a man of huge integrity.”
Assistant police chief Randel Henderson said the indications were that the motive was robbery, but that was not confirmed. No arrests have been made to date.