Priest warns bikers against revenge at funeral of murdered 'brother'
A priest has warned further bloodshed will ensue if revenge is sought among the biker community for the murder of one of their "brothers", who was shot dead last weekend.
At Andrew O'Donoghue's funeral mass today, Fr Tom Ryan, a close friend of the victim, called for "peace and forgiveness".
Fr Ryan, retired parish priest Murroe, said: "The sad thing about life today is that we have come accustom to this kind of bad news, and it doesn't seem to bother us much anymore, until it comes to our own doorstep."
Mr O'Donoghue, 51, was shot in the face outside the Road Tramps Motorcycle Club last Saturday after an ongoing dispute spiralled out of control between bikers.
Hundreds attending the funeral of murder victim Andrew O'Donoghue in #murroe #Limerick today pic.twitter.com/DWG1LAjPGa
— Tomás O Mainnín (@omainnintomas) June 24, 2015
Fr Ryan condemned the brutal slaying, and said a rise in gun murders had left parts of Irish society with "a complete lack of respect for life".
"Unfortunately it is almost an very occurrence now, and this is the very frightening, disturbing, and worrying trend in our country. This is not the Ireland in which I grew up."
Fr Ryan said he was trying to understand "this craziness in our world, and in our own country, trying to understand lives ending needlessly and trying to understand a complete lack of respect for life".
No revenge
In a stark warning to those who do evil, Fr Ryan said: "Move away from the old regime of an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth."
He added: "(Move) away from seeking revenge and getting even, and be able to forgive, be able to show patience and show tolerance."
Sochraid Andrew O'Donoghue ar bun I Maigh Rua inniu pic.twitter.com/pwJOKSBIcm
— Tomás O Mainnín (@omainnintomas) June 24, 2015
"This is a message that must go out loud and clear at this time – unless this message is acted upon dreadful things will continue to happen," he warned.
Over 200 bikers led Mr O'Donoghue's coffin from the Road Tramps Clubhouse, where he lay overnight just yards from where he was gunned down, to Murroe Church.
There was a visible heavy Garda presence at the funeral and a plainclothes detective took photographs of bikers who attended. The funeral passed off without incident.
Inside the church there were emotional scenes as Mr O'Donoghue's coffin slowly entered to a haunting version of Gary Moore's bittersweet guitar soliloquy Parisienne Walkways from the 1978 classic album Back on the Streets.
Mr O'Donoghue's coffin was draped in his black leather jacket emblazoned with his Road Tramps badges and emblems in front of a picture of him on his favourite bike.
His only daughter, Ava, (11), approached the altar with two friends and laid her father's motorcycle helmet beside his coffin.
Over 200 bikers escort remains of murder victim Andrew 'Odd'O'Donoghue to Murroe Church. 4men remain in custody. pic.twitter.com/pNKi0jcR9j
— Eric Clarke (@ericgclarke) June 24, 2015
Fr Tom Ryan, a close friend of Mr O'Donoghue, said the large number of bikers who had arrived for the funeral "shows great loyalty and solidarity".
Sixth class pupils and teachers from a Murroe National School, classmates of the Victim's daughter, also attended the funeral.
"What happened last Saturday has sent shockwaves through this community, especially to your lives here'" Fr Ryan said.
"Today our hearts are troubled, and sad."
Mr O'Donoghue's brother, Peter, described him as "a legend".
"Andrew loved his partner Kate. He adored his daughter Ava. His home was Murroe and the Road Tramps was his life."
A loud applause erupted after he added: "The truth is very powerful and will always prevail. Andrew's sense of duty, and the hopes (he had) for his family, and the club will be his legacy. He was a gentleman. Thank you."
Breaking the stillness of the warm sleepy mid afternoon, over 200 of Mr O'Donoghue's "brothers" rode out in a cacophony of engines alongside his coffin from the church to the father one of one's final resting place at nearby Abbington Cemetery, Murroe.
Gardaí have linked a shooting last Sunday to Mr O'Donoghue's murder. No one was injured in the gun attack at an apartment in Castletroy, Limerick.
Four men are been questioned by Gardaí about the killing. A gun and a vehicle have also been recovered and CCTV is being examined by detectives.
