A parish priest has appealed to members of Limerick's feuding factions not to seek retaliation following the gangland murder of a 35-year-old father of two.
Father Frank O'Dea, of Corpus Christi parish in Moyross, was speaking at the funeral Mass of Noel Campion, who was shot dead last Thursday morning at Thomondgate in Limerick city. The killing is connected to an ongoing violent feud which has claimed eight lives since 2000.
Addressing some 150 mourners during yesterday's funeral Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Father O'Dea urged those contemplating revenge not to follow the path of retaliation.
"Some who are listening may think that seeking retaliation or revenge for Noel's death will be the way to help him find peace, but you know in your heart it will not," he said.
"You know in your heart that retaliation and revenge is not the way. You know in your heart that it takes great strength and courage to follow the path of peace, the same peace that we are asking God to grant to Noel."
Father O'Dea said that everyone had a responsibility to promote and work for peace and harmony in the community. "Let all of us who believe that retaliation is futile persuade, guide and enlighten those who think otherwise not to follow the path of revenge, not to follow the path of retaliation. Those who seek revenge take the path of weakness. Those who seek peace take the path of courage. We pray that each of us, especially those who feel angry because of how Noel died, will choose to take the path of courage, the path that leads to peace."
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea, who was canvassing in the Moyross area while the funeral was taking place, echoed the local priest's message. "Retaliation does not solve anything because the retaliators will then become the next targets and the cycle goes on and on. So people who are involved in retaliation are just exposing themselves to danger, and it has to stop somewhere, so please let it stop here," Mr O'Dea commented.
He said that 100 extra gardaí would be drafted into troubled estates on the north and south sides of Limerick city by next September. The extra policing was one of nine key recommendations in a radical report by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald aimed at tackling violence in Limerick.
Meanwhile, as tensions remained high in Moyross after the murder of Noel Campion, there was a visible Garda presence in the estate during yesterday's funeral Mass. Armed detectives and members of the Emergency Response Unit lined a number of streets and avenues as the remains were brought by horse-drawn carriage to Mount St Oliver cemetery for burial.
The funeral cortège, which was led by Mr Campion's widow, Maureen, and his two children, Gerard (14) and Lyndsey (12), stopped briefly outside Limerick prison on its way to the graveyard. A number of Noel Campion's relatives are currently in jail and were refused permission to attend the funeral.
Gary Campion (21), a brother of the deceased man, is awaiting trial for the murder of Limerick bouncer Brian Fitzgerald, who was shot dead in November 2002.
Noel Campion's eldest brother, William, also missed the funeral as he is serving a life sentence in Portlaoise for the murder of an elderly Co Clare farmer in 1998.