Hynes regrets ‘if’ memorial removal increased Deacy family’s suffering

‘HEARTLESS’  Adrian Deacy and his family described Mayo County Council’s decision to remove a roadside memorial to his late son Joe as ‘heartless’.

Anton McNulty

THE Chief Executive of Mayo County Council has expressed ‘regret’ for any increased suffering that the council’s removal of roadside memorials may have caused for Joe Deacy’s family.
The removal of the roadside memorials to murder-victim Joe Deacy (21) was raised at last week’s monthly meeting of Mayo County Council, where one councillor described the council’s action as a ‘shameful episode’.
Joe Deacy, of St Alban’s, UK, was found dead outside a house at Gortnasillagh, Swinford, on August 12, 2017. Last December, the Deacy family placed memorials close to where he was found dead. One memorial was placed along the N5 at Collagh, while another was placed at the Kinaffe junction on the R320.
In January, they were removed by Mayo County Council, which cited road-safety grounds – a decision that was described as ‘heartless’ by the Deacy family.
Some councillors criticised the council’s handling of the matter, saying the removal was ‘insensitive and wrong’. In response, Peter Hynes, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council said he regretted if the council’s actions caused hurt to the family.
“I do regret, just for the record, if our actions have in anyway exacerbated the suffering of the family. I do regret that,” he said at the meeting which was attended by members of the Deacy family.
Mr Hynes added that a meeting between the family and council officials ‘may be a prudent step forward’, saying he feels it should happen.

‘Indecent haste’
The Mayo News has learned that Mayo County Council has suggested a date in May for such  meeting. However, family members wish to have one sooner. The inquest into Mr Deacy’s death is scheduled to take place in Dublin in May.
The postmortem into Mr Deacy’s death found he died as a result of head injuries, which prompted An Garda SíochΡna to open a murder investigation. Despite a number of subsequent arrests, nobody has been charged with the killing.
Ballina-based Independent councillor Gerry Ginty was the first to raise the issue of the removal of the memorials. He said that as a councillor, he could not condone the council’s actions.
“[The memorials were removed] from the Ballina Municipal Area, and I would like it known that I do not condone what has been done, and that it was not done in my name. It was a shameful episode,” he said.
He later added: “If there was a problem with the memorial, there should have been consultation with the family about removing it. It was the indecent haste in the way it was done that I object to. There is a time to be harsh and a time to be sensitive, and if ever there was a time to be sensitive, this was it.”
Cllr Gerry Coyle also expressed his concerns about the removal while Cllr Brendan Mulroy said the family should be allowed to address Mayo County Council.
However, Claremorris-based councillor Richard Finn said that there needed to be regulations on where memorials should and should not be allowed to be placed.
“God forbid if I drop dead below in the far field, I cannot see any reason why there should be any memorial put out to me in the public road. If there is a memorial to be put up, it should be in the place where this thing happened.”