The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
ON a bright and beautiful Tuesday afternoon the life of Ennis man Eoin Boylan was ended in some of the grimmest circumstances imaginable, as he died as a result of stab wounds, following an incident in Cloughleigh.
The death of Eoin, who was in his early 30s, followed an altercation outside a house on Gordon Drive and the area was closed to the public for some time after the incident, which happened around 3pm.
It was a bright and sunny day and it is understood that there were witnesses to the incident.
The emergency services were summoned to the scene and Mr Boylan was put into an ambulance, where he passed away. His body was subsequently brought to Limerick for an autopsy to be performed by the State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.
It is understood that a man in his late thirties presented himself at Ennis Garda Station some time after the
incident. At the time of writing, he was still being questioned by Gardai.
There was a sense of shock and sadness in Cloughleigh on Tuesday evening as people came to terms with what had happened.
In the hours afterwards large numbers of people were out on the roads, with one woman commenting it was the first time in weeks that she had seen so many people outside of their homes.
Cloughleigh has a reputation of being a tough neighbourhood and one man said he was very disappointed that the incident would reinforce negative views of the area. “For three years we had great peace here, but now this has happened. It’s just a disgrace, it’ll give us a bad name again, it’ll be all over the papers tomorrow.”
Another woman said she had only known Mr Boylan to see him, but that his death in such circumstances was
“very sad”.
Many tributes were being paid online to Mr Boylan in the hours after his death.
Posting on its Facebook account, Banner Martial Arts and Fitness wrote “We have lost one of our own. Not due to
Coronavirus, but human cruelty. We have received word that our friend and student, Eoin Boylan, was killed today. It is too soon to use many words. We are sickened by the news. Those of you who knew Eoin will know that there are few people in the world less deserving of cruelty than Eoin. The embodiment of kindness and humility, Eoin was a determined student and a generous friend. We will organise something in the coming days to remember Eoin by. Please hold Eoin and his family in your prayers tonight.”
Local priest Father Ger Fitzgerald said it was a terrible tragedy. “It’s his family that our prayers and our thoughts are with. Eoin was a lovely lad, he was very quiet, he kept to himself and he never would have caused any problems to anyone. He will be missed greatly, most of all by his family and friends.”
He praised local people who sought to support Eoin’s family in the immediate aftermath. “We saw something horrible on Tuesday, we witnessed the very worst of human nature, but the response then was extraordinary. People were coming out to help the family, people wanted to be close to them, wanted to support them, wanted to be there really. It was very admirable and the community spirit up there is inspirational.”
Gardai are looking to speak to anyone who may be able to assist with the investigation and to anyone who may have camera footage that might be helpful. Contact can be made with Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100 or the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
