THE TOWN OF ARDEE WAS THRUST INTO THE SPOTLIGHT WHEN THE BODY OF A 57-YEAR-OLD POLISH WOMAN WAS FOUND AT HER HOME IN CLONMORE. SINCE THEN, A COMMUNITY HAS UNITED. REPORTS
THE Church of the Nativity of Our Lady in Ardee has always been a place of great solace for generations of locals. In good times and bad, it has been a guiding light. That beacon shone brightly again last Thursday morning as people gathered to remember a ‘ lovely, beautiful woman’ - Elzbieta Piotrowska (57). Her tragic death last Tuesday morning sent shockwaves through the area.
She came from a town in West central Poland called Wrzesnia and life would bring her to Ardee and Clonmore about a decade ago.
Those who met her in the local shops would describe her as a gentle woman who went about her life with a smile, but someone who had adapted to her community and was as much a part of Ardee as anyone else.
Her husband, Krzystztof, works in Coach Trim, where he and his wife, are very popular.
Around 11.30am last Tuesday, her body was found by a shocked neighbour and gardai and the emergency services were called.
So began a series of events that saw houses in the greater Ardee area searched, a couple sealed off and technically examined. These areas included the Bridge Street area of Ardee town; the Cherrybrook estate and the Mandistown area in Drumconrath.
Garda Supt Des McTiernan spoke to the media later in the day, stating they had found Elzbieta ‘very seriously injured’ and she was later pronounced dead at the scene.
‘I am appealing to anybody else who has anything to offer in particular, in the Clonmore estate area, Cherrybrook, Bridge Street, and most importantly the Mandistown area in Drumconrath, to come forward. People might think ‘I may have seen something, I don’t think it’s that important’. Please ring and let us decide that. We need your co-operation.”
Local man Richard Lynch, who rented the house to the Piotrowski family, also paid tribute to the victim and her family, saying she was a lovely woman.
The arrest of a man took place later that day and he was subsequently charged.
Her death was mourned by many and on Thursday they were afforded the chance to stand - shoulder to shoulder - with members of the Polish community in Ardee.
After the 10am mass, Fr Peter Murphy CC and Fr Slater CC gathered hundreds together in the church for the Rosary.
Many didn’t know Elzbieta but wanted to be there. Others came from the close-knit Polish community, clearly shocked by what had happened.
The ceremony was touching and poignant and did much to sooth the soul at such a time.
Those at Ardee Coach Trim expressed their ‘pain and sadness’ at the loss of an ‘energetic, enthusiastic and always cheerful’ colleague.
She worked in the firm with beloved husband, Krzystof.