A 23-year-old man from Kiltormer is expected to appear in Athlone District Court today on a charge of unlawfully killing a Co Galway man yesterday.
Mr Thomas Coen (37) of Durrow, Killimor, Co Galway, died following a dispute outside a pub in Kiltormer early yesterday.
A post-mortem examination was carried out last night by the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison. It was expected to show he sustained serious head injuries. According to Insp Paul Hargadon at Ballinasloe Garda station, the man was detained there under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994.
Mr Coen was found lying beside his car outside Campbell's Hill Bar in Kiltormer at about 3.20 a.m. He was brought to Portiuncula Hospital in Bal linasloe by private car, where he was pronounced dead on admission. Gardai were not called to the scene of the incident and did not become aware of it until they were notified by the hospital at about 4.15 a.m.
It is understood Mr Coen had been drinking in the pub earlier in the evening. He was assaulted as he was about to get into his car in the car-park. According to Garda sources, locals had gathered in the pub to "drown their sorrows" following the defeat of the Kiltormer hurling team by another east Galway side, Eyrecourt, in the intermediate county final.
The car-park and Mr Coen's car were examined by a Garda technical team yesterday afternoon as shocked locals tried to come to terms with his death.
A shopkeeper, who did not wish to be named, said the village was stunned by what had happened. Kiltormer was a "typical rural village" with a population of 400 to 500 people, he said. Nothing like it had ever happened before.
He described Mr Coen as a quiet man who had "no interest" in GAA affairs and worked in his brother's garage in Killimor. "I never heard of him being in any trouble," he said.
The local curate, Father Hugh Briody, said the village was "deeply saddened and shocked". He offered his condolences to the family of the deceased. "I grieve for both families concerned," Father Briody said. "We will need to deal with this tragedy with the utmost sensitivity."
The blue and white Kiltormer flag hung limply in the rain on a flagpole outside the Hill pub yesterday as an intensive investigation into the incident got under way. GardaI conducted house-tohouse inquiries as they tried to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing.
An incident room has been set up at Ballinasloe Garda station. Gardai are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. The telephone number is 0905 44893.