“It has been 18 months since my son was put down, in a manner not befitting an animal let alone a human being…”
The father of the late Joseph Deacy has issued a statement in response to confirmation by the Mayo County Council that roadside memorials to Deacy in the county would be removed.
Mayo County Council confirmed on Thursday that the memorials would be removed due to safety and efficiency interests.
Some motorists were said to be distracted by the visual of the memorials while driving and in a statement, Mayo County Council said that it must provide “a safe and efficient road network for all road users” with the safety of road users of paramount concern.
Deacy (21), pictured above right, was discovered with severe head injuries outside a house at Gortnasillagh, Swinford on Saturday, 12 August 2017.
He was later taken to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he died as a result of his injuries.
Though an arrest was made last summer in connection with Deacy’s death, a man in his 20s was later released without charge.
One year on from his passing, a memorial to Deacy on the N5 outside Bohola in Mayo appeared to have been vandalised, with wreaths and flowers laid in his memory removed and scattered.
Two new memorials were put in place before Christmas, one on the N5 and the other on the Kinnaffe Road.
Clip via RTÉ
In response to the decision by Mayo County Council, Joseph’s father Adrian has issued a statement to express his sadness and disappointment with the decision to remove the memorials.
He suggested that they could have triggered the consciences of those involved in his son’s death and “hopefully help them face up to the magnitude of what evil act they have committed”.
You can read Adrian Deacy’s statement in full below:
“The family and friends of Joe Deacy are saddened and very disappointed with Mayo County Council’s decision to remove the Memorials sited in honour of my beloved son.
“Joe was never happier than when he was in Mayo, and this decision simply adds further misery on top of the heartbreaking fact that he was brutally murdered in the County that he loved so much .
“We are aware that Planning Permission was not sought prior to the Memorials being erected, and for that we apologise, but we do not believe that we are alone in this oversight.
“We also believe that the Memorials were a source of huge comfort to Joe’s many relations and friends who live in the vicinity of Bohola where the Memorials are sited. This has become a place where they could visit and pay their respects , as well as to try and come to terms with the fact that Joe’s murderer(s) have still not been brought to justice.
“From my own personal and selfish point of view, I firmly believe that the people who perpetrated this heinous crime, plus the people that are possibly still aiding them by their silence, may also be from the County of Mayo?
“If these persons then happened to pass the Memorial, then maybe this would in some small way trigger their consciences, and hopefully help them face up to the magnitude of what evil act they have committed.
“It has been 18 months since my son was put down, in a manner not befitting an animal let alone a human being, so the least we would like to do now, is to allow all of the people that knew and loved Joe, plus the many others from all over Mayo that have expressed their kindness and sympathy to our Family, to be allowed to continue to pay their respects in this manner.
“Compassion may not feature in the legal Dictionary, but we hope and trust that it still should be a factor to consider?
“Sincerely,
Adrian Deacy”
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