Was Derry killed in rubble row?
THE community in Macroom was left reeling on Wednesday after locals woke to horrific news that local man Derry Coakley had been shot dead the previous night.
Shortly after 11.30pm on Tuesday, Gardaí were called to a farm at Raleigh, approximately four kilometres outside the town, following reports of a shooting.
Gardaí have established that Mr Coakley had delivered a load of building rubble to the farm when he was confronted by the landowner.
One line of inquiry gardaí are believed to be examining is that while Mr Coakley had permission to dispose of some building material at the farm, a row may have broken out over where on the farm he had deposited the most recent load.
Shortly before 11am on Wednesday, Gardaí investigating the incident confirmed that they had arrested a man in his 60’s, who was detained at Bandon Garda Station under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act.
GARDAI in Macroom were last night continuing to question a 62 year old local man about the shooting dead of a father of one at a farm just outside the town late on Tuesday night.
Derry Coakley, a separated father of one, was fatally injured when he was shot while delivering a load of building waste to a farm at Curraheen, Raleigh, some five kilometres west of Macroom town at around 11.30pm on Tuesday night.
Gardai have established that Mr Coakley had delivered a load of building rubble to the farm when he was confronted by the landowner and at least one shot was discharged at him but he managed to get back on to his tractor and drive back on to the public roadway some several hundred metres away.
He managed to ring a friend who was living nearby and the man rushed to the scene where he found Mr Coakley badly injured. The friend notified the emergency services, including paramedics who tended to Mr Coakley at the scene but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gardai cordoned off the scene and Mr Coakley’s body remained there overnight as gardai under Supt Mick Fitzpatrick requested the services of the State Pathologist’s Office and the Garda Technical Bureau from Dublin.
Mr Coakley’s body remained at the scene until late on Wednesday afternoon when it was removed to Cork University Hospital where Dr Bolster is scheduled to commence her post-mortem on Thursday morning, which gardai hope will clarify how many times Mr Coakley was shot.
Meanwhile, garda technical experts have begun examining two separate crime scenes – the first where Mr Coakley was shot near his tractor on the farm and the second where he died on the roadway some several hundred metres away.
Gardai last night removed the tractor to a secure location for a technical examination and it’s believed that their investigation will also involve the examination of a legally held firearm belonging to the man who was arrested at his home.
Gardai have already spoken to Mr Coakley’s friend who came to his assistance and have questioned him as to whether Mr Coakley told him who shot him but it’s understood they have yet to take a formal witness statement from the man.
Gardai are keeping an open mind on the motive for the killing but one line of inquiry they believed to be examining is that while Mr Coakley had permission to dispose of some building material at the farm, a row may have broken out over where on the farm he had deposited the most recent load.
Meanwhile, Supt Mick Fitzpatrick appealed to anyone who has any information that might assist gardai or who were in the Raleigh North area of Macroom between 10.30pm and 12 midnight on Monday 23rd October 2018 to contact Macroom Garda Station on 026-20590.
Mr Coakley, who lived with his elderly mother, Joan, on Castle Street in the centre of Macroom, was a familiar sight around the town, doing contract work for Cork County Council, including gritting roads for the local authority during extremely cold weather.
Former Labour county councllor Martin Coughlan knew the late Mr Coakley well and said that people in Macroom were utterly shocked to wake up on Monday to learn that he had been shot dead as he was such a familiar figure around the town.
“Derry was the call man around town – he had his own machines, including a couple of JCBs. He worked for the council and would work for anyone ... if you ever needed any job done he would be down to you straight away,” said Mr Coughlan, adding: “I am just totally and utterly dismayed.”
“We had a food festival here in the Square a few weeks ago and I had some hanging baskets that I needed to take down – I rang Derry at seven o’clock in the evening and he was here at ten past seven and they were down and that’s the kind of man he was; he was always there for you.”