IT had been a busy weekend for the betting shop where Timmy Rattigan was a regular. Racing at The Curragh and in the UK as well as the Tyson/Holyfield fight brought a stream of customers on Saturday afternoon.
Timmy Rattigan, a roofer, had finished a job earlier that day. At about 12.30 p.m. he went for a drink in his local, the Gate Inn Lounge, just beside Jack Gamble's betting shop. Shortly after 2.30 p.m. he went next door to put a bet on the 2.45 at Newcastle.
He was filling betting slips when an unmasked gunman strolled into the shop and shot him in the back of the head.
The news swept through the community. Timmy Rattigan (49) was well known in the area. The tall building worker was known for his sense of humour. A family friend, Ms Denise Murphy, said: "He was full of laughs, he'd give you the best time of your life. Everyone is just shocked, we can't believe that this could happen to him."
His distraught daughter, Tina, was comforted by friends on James's Street before going to the nearby hospital to be at his bedside. "She couldn't believe what had happened. She kept saying `he's not dead, he's not dead'," said Ms Murphy. "Timmy was the best of the best."
As Timmy Rattigan was put on a lifesupport machine, friends and relatives placed bouquets outside the betting shop on James's Street. Yesterday, he died.
"Timmy wasn't a criminal, he was a gentleman. He worked for a living," said Dinah Rattigan, who was married to his first cousin. "When my husband died eight months ago, Timmy could not have been better to me. He didn't deserve this."
Another friend at the scene said:
"They talk about this being a gangland killing. But Timmy was one of us. He was a friend living in Drimnagh. If there was a bad side to him we certainly never saw it. Timmy would never have been involved in drugs or anything like that.
It was the second such shooting on the street in recent years. Jimmy Gantley was shot in the Gate Inn 18 months ago but survived. "I can't believe this has happened again," said another local.