SOUTHILL was in shock following the shooting dead of local man Des Kelly, aged 23, and his partner Breda Waters, (28), from St. Munchin’s Street, St. Mary’s Park, at Mr Kelly’s home, 531 O’Malley Park, on Sunday morning. It is understood that a house party had earlier been held at the address. Up to Tuesday, eight people had been arrested and questioned at various Garda Stations.
Community officer Mary Higgins, said that the people of Southill were devastated.
“People are afraid that things are going back to the old ways.
“I’ve been here when a lot of things have happened, but I’ve never seen this level of shock.
“The general feeling is ‘Oh no. We’re not going back to this”.
Assistant director of Limerick Southside Regeneration, Kieran Ryan, agreed.
“It’s quite shocking and there is a sense of revulsion now more than ever.
“This type of crime has been absent for a while and people want it to be an isolated incident”.
Mary Higgins said that nowadays there is a different atmosphere in the community.
“No one expected this, it’s totally out of the blue and everyone is devastated for these two families.
“The community is rallying around and are very concerned for Dessie’s family.
“They have great respect for his mother Mary-Ann, and family members.
“They have already experienced a lot of tragedy and Jonathan (18), has now lost three of his brothers”.
Her sympathy was shared by local Labour Councillor Orla McLoughlin.
“My heart goes out to Des’s younger brother Jonathan…it’s heartbreaking.
“However, the saddest element of this tragedy is that six children are now without parents”.
The councillor said she was horrified when she heard the news on Sunday,
“People want peace and this behaviour hasn’t been the norm in the community in recent times.
“It’s bringing back anxieties that were quashed.
“Christmas was a peaceful time.. nobody expected something like this to happen.
“This will have a deep rooted affect on young children here, seeing so many Gardaí and investigators”.
A group of about 60 investigating Gardaí received a positive reaction from residents, which Ms Higgins welcomed.
“Many have given high praise to Roxboro Gardaí for how they have conducted their investigation.
“There is greater co-operation from the community as they are now more familiar with their local community guards”.
Gardaí confirmed that footage from the local network of CCTV had helped them to make significant progress in their investigation.
The CCTV system of 29 cameras was installed in 2008 on foot of requests from residents.
“People questioned if the cameras are working…this shows they are.” concluded Ms Higgins.
Ms Breda Waters hails from a large family, and is mother of three children. It is believed she was a guest at Mr Kelly’s home.
