THE FATHER of a young Sligo man who was murdered in 2007 has said his family had been very upset by the local council’s decision to remove a memorial in his honour from outside their home.
Tom Ward was 23 when he was savagely attacked outside his parents’ home in Cranmore, Sligo. He is believed to have been struck on the head with a hatchet. No one has been charged in connection with the killing.
Yesterday, his father Tom Ward snr said the family had been very upset that a marble memorial, erected at the scene of the killing, had been removed shortly before Christmas. He said he did not see what problem the memorial measuring about 2ft by 2.5ft was causing.
Mr Ward confirmed he had been repeatedly asked by the council over the last two years or so to remove the memorial before it was taken away on December 17th. He said it had been taken away “at all hours” of the night.
Mr Ward said he believed there were people in Sligo who had information about his son’s murder that they had not passed on to the Garda. “We are convinced of that,” he told Ocean FM radio in Sligo. Mr Ward also said when he had gone to City Hall in Sligo to retrieve the memorial, he was told he would have to pay €1,500.
Sligo Borough Council yesterday confirmed it had removed the “unauthorised monument” which it said had been erected on the footpath in contravention of the Roads Act 1993. It said it had repeatedly requested “verbally and subsequently in writing” it be removed before taking action.
“Sligo Borough Council fully understands and accepts the sensitive nature of this matter and accordingly has been most patient in allowing ample time for the removal of the commemoration plaque from its unauthorised location – however, it remained in situ,” the council said in a statement.
A council spokesman said Mr Ward would be expected to cover the cost of having the memorial removed before having his property returned.
Tom Ward’s wife was pregnant with their second child when he was murdered in August 2007.
One of his brothers has set up a Facebook page, “Justice for Tom Ward”, urging anyone with information about the killing to help bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I know it would be daunting to come forward with information but Tom deserves justice,” Martin Ward wrote. Almost 400 people have signed up to the site.
