Murdered Traveller 'an innocent victim'

The young man murdered in the centre of Sligo town last week had been the innocent victim of a terrible crime, mourners at his funeral were told yesterday.

Hughie McGinley was laid to rest at Sligo cemetery four days after being shot in the head in front of his girlfriend and baby son in a mid-afternoon attack on a busy shopping street.

Praying for a "peaceful resolution" to his death, Fr Leonard Taylor told the congregation at St Joseph's church, Ballytivnan, that there was rightly shock and horror in the community that a young man had been taken in cold blood.

"Hughie was the innocent victim of this terrible crime. He did not deserve to die," said Fr Taylor. He said that no one had a right to make such a decision and that no set of circumstances justified murder before God.

He told the 400 or so mourners led by the dead man's girlfriend Jacqueline McGuinness, his mother Tilda, six of his seven brothers, and his three sisters, that there was no such thing as a victimless crime. "There are always victims," said Fr Taylor.

There was a heavy security presence in Sligo as detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns backed up uniformed gardaí at checkpoints around the town, but the funeral passed off without incident.

During his homily Fr Taylor praised the Travelling community for their values and their traditions and criticised the way society tends to ghettoise poor working-class men.

Detectives investigating the murder say they are keeping an open mind as to the motive, but it is widely believed to be linked to a feud between two families in Sligo which has led to a series of shootings over the past two years.

Mr McGinley, who was a settled Traveller, had been injured in an attack just over a year ago when both he and a younger brother were fired upon. Less than three weeks before his death another man was injured when a shot was fired through the front window of his home at Stephen McDonagh Place, Sligo.

At yesterday's funeral Fr Taylor pointed out that Mr McGinley was only 26, and he added that his murderer was probably not much older. He said this begged the question about the kind of example society offers to young people.

Fr Taylor told the congregation that in his time in the parish he had got to know many Travelling families and some had experienced rejection. "Hughie did not get a chance to see his four-month-old boy grow up or to marry his girlfriend." He added that there was a journey to be made now "and it must be one that this child can share".

After the funeral Mass the pall-bearers paused outside his home on nearby Connaughton road en route to the cemetery. His inconsolable mother was close to collapse and had to be linked outside the church.

A model of a pit-bull dog rested on the coffin reflecting Mr McGinley's love for dogs and a second hearse carried hundreds of floral displays to the cemetery.

Gardaí are continuing their investigation into the killing which was carried out by the pillion passenger of a motorbike which stopped alongside Mr McGinley's parked van.

Insp Gerry Roche yesterday appealed for witnesses to come forward, saying that any information, no matter how trivial it seemed, might be helpful.

"There must have been 200 to 300 people there at the time and only a fraction of these have come forward," he said.