Gardai now believe the amusement arcade manager murdered in Ballinasloe this week was killed during a robbery. Mr John Kennedy (50), from Ballinruane, Ahascragh, Co Galway, was found dead in the arcade at about 4.15 a.m. on Tuesday morning. He was acting manager of the Funworld amusement arcade.
A spokesman in Ballinasloe Garda station said a large quantity of coins, worth between £1,000 and £1,500, was apparently taken during the attack on Mr Kennedy. Chief Supt Joe Kilgannon, who is leading the investigation, has appealed to banks, post offices, supermarkets and credit unions to report any unusual transactions involving large amounts of coins.
An intensive search for the murder weapon, thought to be a builder's hammer, continued yesterday. Members of the Garda Technical Bureau also continued a detailed examination of the arcade and surrounding areas.
The funeral of Mr Kennedy takes place this morning after 11.30 a.m. Mass in St Cuan's Church, in Ahascragh, Co Galway.
At one stage during last night's removal from Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, the queue of sympathisers outside the mortuary stretched for several hundred yards and darkness had fallen by the time the hearse reached the church over two hours late. The chief mourners were the dead man's mother, Kathleen, his brothers, Thomas and Stephen, and his sisters, Kitty, Nora, Mary, Carmel and Bernie.