Sligo man shot to death

By Harry Keaney

A murder hunt is under way in County Sligo following the early morning shooting dead of a local man at his home in Monasteraden, a small village in the south of the county near the border with Roscommon..

Terry Madden, 51, bled to death outside his house, after he was shot in both legs while walking to his car at about 8 a.m. on Thursday.

The father of three was found by his wife a short time later, but did not live to make it to hospital. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor.

The incident not only shocked the local community but took on an added significance because of the recent upsurge in paramilitary punishment shootings in Northern Ireland, despite the "peace" process. However, by Tuesday, there was no clear or definite indication as to who carried out the brutal attack on Madden.

Gárdaí are keeping an open mind on the motive for the killing, which stunned the quiet village on the shore of Lough Gara where Madden lived with, his wife, Margaret, and the couple’s three teenage children.

In the aftermath of the shooting, gárdaí set up a special incident room in the gárda station in the nearby village of Gurteen. A gárda spokesman at Gurteen told the Echo Tuesday that they had no idea who carried out the attack.

On Tuesday morning a burned out car was found in a nearby village, Coolaney, but as the Echo went to press it had not been established if the vehicle had any relationship to Madden’s death.

The family lived above their grocery shop in the village for many years before selling the business and opening a bed and breakfast nearby.

Madden was deeply involved in community work and was a driving force in numerous development projects. He was a founder member of the area’s group water scheme and also worked with the council for the West and the Sligo Leader Partnership. He had stood unsuccessfully in the local elections, seeking a seat on Sligo County Council.

When he was abducted and shot, he was leaving for Dublin, where he was due to attend a meeting relating to his volunteer work. A car was spotted leaving the scene but no description has been released.

Gárda forensics experts searched for clues as to the kind of weapon and car used in the shooting, and to determine if more than one person was involved. It is believed that a shotgun was used. The fact that Madden was involved in so many local activities has added to the difficulty in pinpointing possible suspects.