Michael Commins
CLOONFAD residents awoke on Saturday morning to the shocking news of a murder-suicide in the quiet Roscommon village close to the borders of Mayo and Galway. Early risers heard the first details on the RTÉ Radio One news at 6am and the scale of the horrific events of some hours earlier slowly began to sink in as the hours progressed.
Sarah Regan (30) was shot dead in her car at Springvale estate by former partner Bob Hartery, a native of Co Tipperary. He then drove two hundred yards to Cloonfad school car park where he shot himself. They had resided together at Grangemockler near Clonmel for around a year up until some weeks ago when Sarah moved back to Cloonfad where her father Tom resides. Sarah, who had two children from a previous relationship, Shannon (11) and Dylan (8), had previously lived for many years in England.
Details have emerged that Mr Hartery had made plans to carry out the act in recent days. Having borrowed a gun, he asked his mother’s care assistant in Tipperary to drive him to Cloonfad. After leaving her in one of the pubs in the village, he headed for the Springvale estate where Sarah had arrived in her father’s car. It is understood she was shot a number of times in the head as she sat in the car.
The body of Bob Hartery was found shortly after midnight in the car that had earlier been driven from Tipperary. A further search of the area revealed the full scale of the tragedy when the body of Sarah was discovered in the car at Springvale less than two hours later.
“Cloonfad has never had anything like this before. The community is stunned with the viciousness and callousness of what took place on Friday night. Sarah’s dad Tom is well known in the area. He ran the Manor House Hotel in Ballyhaunis for a few years at one stage. The family has strong connections to the pub business in England over the years as well. The Regans have a lot of relations in the Cloonfad area and this is such a huge shock to them and all in the locality,” said a Cloonfad resident yesterday evening (Monday).
Sarah Regan will repose in Keane’s Funeral Home in Cloonfad this evening (Tuesday) from 5.30pm to 7.30pm with removal to St Patrick’s Church in the village. After Requiem Mass at 12 noon on Wednesday, the funeral will proceed to Tulrahan Cemetery in Co Mayo.
The funeral of Bob Hartery will take place in Grangemockler on the borders of Tipperary and Kilkenny during the week.