A PRIEST has told those responsible for the murder of a 24-year-old Limerick man that they will have to answer for what they have done.
Speaking at the funeral Mass of Daniel Fitzgerald at the weekend, Fr Sean Harmon also warned of the dangers of people taking the law into their own hands.
Mr Fitzgerald from Old Pallas, Co Limerick was shot dead last Tuesday night when a gunman opened fire at his uncle’s cottage in Cloughnadromin, Ballysimon, Co Limerick.
It is believed the murder is linked to an attack on a vehicle belonging to a member of a criminal gang the previous night.
Mr Fitzgerald, who was not known to gardaí, was described by his family as a hard-working young carpenter who was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
A total of nine people have been questioned in connection with the murder, and five suspects, including a 19-year-old man, were still in custody last night. Gardaí investigating the murder seized €80,000 of cocaine on Saturday during searches carried out in a field in the Ballysimon Road area.
In total, €440,000 worth of cocaine and heroin has now been recovered during searches taking place as part of the investigation into the murder of the 24-year-old.
During his homily at St John’s Cathedral on Saturday, Fr Sean Harmon said no one had the right to take another human life.
“We all have arguments and disputes with other people and indeed we all have had arguments. But there are many ways in which disputes should be resolved and can be resolved . . . But we must never ever take the law into our own hands and commit a grave and terrible crime. A grave crime which causes so much pain and sorrow to the family of the victim,” he said, describing Mr Fitzgerald as a “cherished son and a very cherished brother”.
“Human life is so very sacred, and no one had the right to take another person’s life. No one has that right, and the perpetrators of this terrible crime will have to answer for what they’ve done and that is certain,” he said.
“They’ve taken this young man’s life and they will have to answer to the State, they will have to answer to God and also they must live with the pangs of conscience that they have taken the life of a cherished son and cherished brother,” he continued.
Five people arrested in connection with the shooting were brought before a special sitting of Limerick District Court yesterday, where gardaí sought extensions to their periods of detention.
A 38-year-old woman and two girls aged 14 and 17 arrested soon after the murder last Tuesday night were released without charge over the weekend and a file is being prepared for the DPP. A 17-year-old male being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act was also released without charge at the weekend.