Murdered taxi driver Martin Mulligan reposing at his home from today before funeral on Friday

Martin Mulligan RIP

Murdered taxi driver Martin Mulligan will be laid to rest on Friday morning.

The 53-year-old, who was stabbed to death in an incident at Carnmore in Kilcurry in the early hours of Monday morning, will be reposing at his home in Waterview on the Lower Point Road from 12 noon until 9pm today and tomorrow.

His removal will then take place on Friday morning to St Joseph’s Redemptorist Church for Mass at 11am, with burial afterwards to St Patrick’s Cemetery in Dowdallshill.

A minute’s silence in his honour will also be held before the Sean O’Mahony’s County Final clash with St Patrick’s GFC in Drogheda on Sunday. Martin is a former player with the Point Road outfit, while his nephew Garry is a key member of the current team.

Predeceased by his father Christy, Martin is survived by his wife Gráinne (née Watters), daughters Sharon and Shauna, mother Nancy, brothers Gerry and Kevin, sisters Imelda Callan and Clare D’Arcy, mother and father-in-law Evelyn and Gussie, uncle Sean, aunt Marian, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, cousins, extended family, relatives, neighbours and friends.

Investigations into the murder are continuing with Gardaí speculating that Mr Mulligan may have attempted to chase a person or group who attempted to flee his taxi to avoid a fare.

Pat’s winning banter battle ahead of County Final

This Sunday’s County Final between St Patrick’s GFC and the Sean O’Mahony’s promises to be a memorable affair.

St Pat’s are hoping to retain the title for a third consecutive season while the Point Road men are in their first ever senior final after Louth and Leinster Intermediate Championship success last year.

It promises to be a closely fought affair but off the field at least St Pat’s would seem to have the upper hand from now.

Someone from the Lordship club boarded Sean O’Mahony’s clubman Pat O’Brien’s boat ‘Sea Ranger’ overnight and placed the club’s green and white colours on it. The Pearse Park man is well known as a Co Board delegate and has two sons on the O’Mahony’s team.

The O’Mahony’s seen the funny side of it when posting about it on Twitter earlier today but don’t be surprised to see some form of response in the build-up to Sunday’s clash in Drogheda.

Fr Cusack calls on Mulligan murderer to hand themselves in

Fr Michael Cusack

Local priest Fr Michael Cusack has called on the killer of Dundalk taxi driver Martin Mulligan to hand themselves over to the Gardaí.

Dundalk was rocked by the news yesterday that the 53-year-old father of two had been murdered in an incident around 3am at Carnmore in Kilcurry, off the R177 Dundalk to Armagh Road, in the early hours of the morning.

Fr Cusack, from St Joseph’s Redemptorist Church in Dundalk, described the killing as a complete tragedy.

“Whoever did this, for God’s sake turn yourself in and do the decent thing,” said Fr Cusack.

“It’s not going to bring any real comfort to the family at all because they’ve lost the one who was nearest and dearest to them.

“A mother has lost her son, a wife has lost her husband and two daughters have lost their father.

“People are deeply shocked, he was an ordinary man doing his best to put bread on the table and in his efforts he ended up losing his life.

“It’s a day of complete tragedy and a nightmare for the family,” he said.

Fr Cusack also described Mr Mulligan, who previously worked as a coal man, as a “hardworking family man” and a “real gentleman”.

It has emerged that Mr Mulligan died after being stabbed three times following a row with a passenger.

A blade severed an artery in his leg during the attack, which also saw him knifed in the side and stomach.

Martin Mulligan RIP

No blood was found in Martin’s Skoda Octavia car, with his body discovered around 300m away.

Gardaí believe he may have been attacked in a row over a fare, with his killer either escaping on foot or getting collected by an accomplice.

While living in Waterview on the Lower Point Road for a number of years, Mr Mulligan is originally from St Clement’s Park, where his mother Nancy still resides. He was well known in the area as a coal man for many years. His nephew Garry is a member of the Sean O’Mahony’s team preparing for next Sunday’s County Final against St Patrick’s GFC. The Point Road side, whom Martin used to play for in his younger days, have led the tributes to him in the last 24 hours.

Martin is also survived by his wife Gráinne, daughters Shauna and Sharon and siblings Kevin, Gerry, Imelda and Clare. He was predeceased by his father Christy.

Anyone with information on the murder is being asked to contact the incident room at Dundalk Garda Station on 042 9388400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800666111 or any Garda Station.

Sean O’Mahony’s book place in first ever Louth Senior Championship final

Dundalk side the Sean O’Mahony’s will contest the Louth Senior Championship final for the first time in their history next month.

The Point Road outfit overcame last year’s beaten finalists the Dreadnots on a 1-12 to 1-8 scoreline in Haggardstown on Saturday night to set up a final clash against holders St Patrick’s GFC in Drogheda on Sunday October 4^th.

The O’Mahony’s, winners of the Louth and Leinster Intermediate titles last year, raced into a 0-5 to no score lead inside the opening 17 minutes with Conor Finnegan scoring three points in between other scores from Stephen Fisher and Gary Mulligan.

Liam Shevlin finally managed to respond for the Clogherhead men five minutes later but another point from Fisher was followed up with a goal from Conor Crawley that left it 1-6 to 0-1.

Finnegan added two further points before the break with Shevlin responding as the O’Mahony’s led by 1-8 to 0-2 at half-time.

The gap remained at nine points when Finnegan and Ben McLaughlin cut out earlier scores from James Califf and Peter Kirwan but heading into the final quarter the Dreadnots mounted a serious charge.

Califf added a few frees when Shevlin hit the net to leave it 1-11 to 1-7 with five minutes to go.

Finnegan then scored a vital insurance point and although Califf fired over a late reply for the Dreadnots, it wasn’t enough to prevent the O’Mahony’s from advancing to the County Final.

Sean O’Mahony’s: Kevin Brennan; Michael Clarke, Ronan Byrne, Kurt Murphy; Keith McLaughlin, John O’Brien, Gary Mulligan 0-1; Conor Martin, Shane Brennan; Peter Nixon, Stephen Fisher 0-2, Conor Finnegan 0-8 (5f); Stephen Kilcoyne, Conor Crawley 1-0, Johnny Connolly. Subs: Ben McLaughlin 0-1 for J Connolly, Pat O’Brien for M Clarke.

Meanwhile, eight points from Barry O’Hare and a goal from Liam Carthy helped Roche Emmets beat the Glen Emmets by 1-12 to 0-14 at Clan na Gael Park on Friday night to book their place in the Junior Final.

Six points from William Woods and a goal from Jack Butterly saw Naomh Fionnbarra beat Stabannon Parnells by 1-8 to 0-4 in the other semi-final.

Finally, Clan na Gael will take on Kilkerley Emmets in the Intermediate Championship final on Sunday in Haggardstown. Throw-in is at 4pm.

McLaughlin signs for Derry City

Ben McLaughlin

Former Dundalk defender Ben McLaughlin has signed for Derry City.

The Point Road man, who was released by Everton earlier this year having left Dundalk for Goodison in August 2012.

He now joins up with a Candystripes side that has plenty of good memories for his family. His grandfather Jim is a legendary figure at the Brandywell having led the club to an historic treble in the late 80s, while his father Paul also lined out for the Ulstermen.

Meanwhile, another Dundalk youngster Conor McDonald has left Oriel Park to sign for Warrenpoint Town.

Local success at Fleadh Cheoil

Mark Toner, centre with right elbow above cup, pictured with the victorious Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band

Dundalk man Mark Toner was a member of the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band which scooped the Pipe Marching Band title at the Fleadh Cheoil in Sligo at the weekend.

Mark, who plays the bag pipes, has been a member of the band for a number of years and helped them release a charity CD in recent years.

Originally from the Point Road but now living in Dromiskin, Mark is a paramedic with the Dublin Fire Brigade.

A number of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann Dundalk members also did well at the Fleadh.

Séamus de Faoite placed first in the Piano Accordion event for 12 to 15 year olds, Fionnuala Donlon was second in the Irish Harp for 15 to 18 year olds while Sárán Mulligan was third in the Concertina for 15 to 18 year olds.

Sean O’Mahony’s to host community day tomorrow

Sean O’Mahony’s GFC will host a community day at their grounds on the Point Road tomorrow.

An underage 5k sponsored walk will get the events underway at 1pm followed by a sports day from 2pm to 6pm.

There will be bouncy castles, face painting, ice cream and a BBQ on the day with entertainment afterwards in Tom Clarke’s Bar.

Witnesses sought to Point Road hit and run

The damage caused to the car

Witnesses are being sought following a hit and run incident on the Point Road in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The incident happened when a parked car was hit by another vehicle around 0.50am before driving off.

Substantial damage was caused to the parked vehicle with owner Alan Graham appealing for anyone with information to contact Dundalk Garda Station.

UPDATE 22/6/2015 2.50pm – Alan reports that the car has been located.

Dundalk’s Ben McLaughlin released by Everton

Ben McLaughlin

Dundalk footballer Ben McLaughlin has been released by Everton Football Club today.

The 20-year-old, grandson of legendary former Lilywhites boss Jim McLaughlin, signed for the Toffees from Dundalk in August 2012, having only made his Lilywhites debut that March.

At the time he signed a three year deal with the Liverpool-based club but they have opted not to offer him a new contract having honoured the initial deal.

The right back, from the Point Road, struggled to push for a first team place at Goodison Park as he had hoped for, with the club shipping him out on loan to Vanarama Conference side AFC Telford Utd in January.

It now remains to be seen whether McLaughlin looks to extend his spell in England or returns to the League of Ireland.

The San Siro

Masterpiece Aerial Photography recently captured this superb shot of the Sean O’Mahony’s GFC pitch on the Point Road.

Nicknamed the ‘San Siro’ locally, there is a fantastic background view of the Navvy Bank, Dundalk Bay and the Cooley Mountains.