Homeless chef killed in Cork had previously been hospitalised three times following assaults

“I have been attacked three times. I ended up in hospital because of those attacks. The last attack happened two weeks ago and the person stomped on my hand. I ended up with fractures on my hand plus fractures down my right side. My actual rib went in to my lung.

I didn’t have a cent in my pocket and they probably thought I had something. (At night) I feel cold and not safe. It is really cold. We are a city on stone basically.

We might have a duvet or a few blankets. You wake up at four and you are hypothermic and shaking with the cold.

Timmy, who once worked for the Hilton Hotel chain in the UK, was found beaten and unconscious at Mardyke Walk in Cork in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He had been sleeping in "tented village" there every night. Homeless people gathered there at night because they felt there was safety in numbers.

Timmy said that he felt invisible in society apart from for the huge kindness shown to him by charity workers.

“They (people) look at you like you are a zero. They say 'oh he is homeless again. Or this guy is homeless we saw ten of those before'. They just walk past you like you are not there and that is invisibility.

"My day involves wandering around the whole city thinking where will I sleep tonight? It is going to be safe? In most places in Cork it is not safe in Cork in the city centre."

The father of one found it impossible to secure employment as a chef without an address. The stigma of homelessness followed him in the interview process.

He became emotional as he discussed the “monkey on his shoulder” that was alcoholism and the cycles of sobriety and relapses that were his reality.

“When you are back on the street that monkey on your shoulder says ‘Go back on alcohol again.’ Unfortunately that is what happened.”

Timmy said that in spite of the suffering he was going through he was optimistic for the future.

“I am going to fight for myself and I would love to fight for other people who are homeless as well. We need to stand up for ourselves at last.”

Meanwhile, Mr Hourihane gave an interview to the Irish Times on Christmas day in 2017 whilst eating his Christmas meal at Penny Dinners in Hanover Street in Cork city. The charity provides daily meals to the homeless.

Timmy said he had a feeling of immense gratitude for the blessings of the day. He took delight in simple pleasures such as going to mass.

“I went to mass this morning at the church down the road at half eight. I went to the Polish mass last night. There was a beautiful woman who prayed for me. It was fantastic.

This is relaxing and I feel safe. This is my happiest day for a long time. Because I went to the church. I came here. People are lovely.

Timmy said it was important to try and acquire a black sense of humour whilst living on the streets.

“When you sleep on the streets you are lucky to wake up with your trainers still on. It has happened to me where I have woken up with one trainer missing. You have to laugh cause you think why didn’t they take the two?"

Caitriona Twomey, who runs Cork Penny Dinners, does not speak about individual deaths of service users because of concerns around family privacy. However, she confirmed that she knew Timmy and was deeply saddened by his passing.

She said that Timmy’s life should serve as a wake up call to the Taoiseach Leo Vardarkar.

“The majority of people want help and they can’t get help. What we need to do is to take a serious look at what happens to people when they come out of treatment centres. It is torture for people to be doing so well in treatment and then come back out on to the streets.”

The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr John Sheehan described the death of Timmy Hourihane as a “huge tragedy.” He said that every effort was being made at local authority level to get more houses on stream.

“Fundamentally we need a lot more housing. We need to do a lot more. People are stuck in Simon for ages, they are stuck in family hubs for ages because there is no accommodation for them. “

Meanwhile, Christina Chalmers of Helping Cork’s Homeless charity was a personal friend of Timmy Hourihane.

Ms Chalmers said Timmy cannot be forgotten overnight.

“Timmy was so much more than a statistic. I don’t want him to be reported about as “Homeless man beaten...” I am truly heartbroken at the devastating and brutally sad way in which dear Timmy has passed away.

He was the warmest kindest man. He never caused anyone any hassle. He was so kind to other homeless people. He watched out for vulnerable people and was really good to one woman.

"He was great fun. One year he ran in the mini marathon for charity dressed up as a woman. That was Timmy."

Ms Chalmers said that Timmy was an extremely talented chef who struggled in the wake of his alcoholism. His troubles really began close to a decade ago when he lost his beloved partner Michael to cancer.

"Timmy nursed his partner Michael who had cancer. He lived by the train station and used to walk up and down twice a day to the hospital. When he died that is when the addiction kicked in.

"Timmy was a top chef in England. He served Elton John and Lionel Richie. He loved his food. We would go to the Market Lane restaurant with him sometimes and he knew his food and dressed well for going there.

"I want him to be remembered for who he was. My family all loved him. We are devastated."

Investigations in to the death are continuing today.

Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of the scene at Mardyke Walk yesterday. A postmortem was carried out at Cork University Hospital. The results have not been released for operational reasons.

Gardaí are also speaking to our have spoken to people who were living in tents in the “tented village” near UCC where Timmy was found unconscious.

Supt Michael Comyns of Anglesea Street has issued an appeal to witnesses to the incident to come forward.

"We are appealing for witnesses. This area at night. There are a lot of people on foot around here and traffic. We are appealing for anyone who was in the area from 11pm to 1am to contact us and particularly if they saw anything of a supicious nature or anything at all really to contact us."

Gardaí are hoping to receive dashcam footage from passing taxi drivers and motorists.

"Dash cam footage or any footage at all from a persons phone. In this area there are a lot of guest houses as well and there may have been people staying in the guest houses from outside of Cork city who would have checked out probably this morning and we would ask them to contact us."

Gardaí are appealing to persons who were in the Mardyke Walk area between 12 midnight and 1am yesterday morning and who may have witnessed any activity in the area or any motorists who may have passed through Mardyke Walk around these times and have Dashcam footage to contact Anglesea Garda Station on 021 -4522000, The Garda Confidential Line1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.