The family of murdered Irish Rail employee Ian Walsh, who was found stabbed to death in his Tipperary home, gathered on Tuesday at a simple cremation service.
A signaller based at Kent Station in Cork city, Mr Walsh was a railway enthusiast who also helped organise tours for others keenly interested in trains.
Friends he had made while promoting Ireland’s railway heritage were among dozens of mourners.
The cremation took place to some of Mr Walsh’s favourite songs including recordings of Christy Moore’s Lisdoonvarna, the Saw Doctors’ N17 and Queen’s Breakthru, the video for which featured the band performing on a speeding train and open-top carriage.
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A native of Co Waterford, Mr Walsh is survived by his mother Breda Forristal, brother Paul, uncle Mick Forristal and extended family. The cremation service took place at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy near Cork Harbour.
Mr Walsh was found with stab wounds to the torso in a downstairs room of his home at Ravenswood Estate in Carrick-on-Suir by gardaí and family members when they called to check on him at around 3.30am on August 4th.
Gardaí launched a murder investigation after a postmortem examination by State Pathologist Dr Yvonne McCartney at University Hospital Waterford.
An incident room was established in Clonmel following the postmortem results.
So far gardaí have taken more than 100 witness statements, including ones from friends and neighbours, in an attempt to piece together Mr Walsh’s last known movements.
Gardaí are also continuing to trawl through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from homes and commercial premises throughout Carrick-on Suir, including the Ravenwood and Cregg Road area as well as the town centre and approach roads.
Officers are examining social media platforms for posts that may shed light on who would have wanted to kill Mr Walsh, who lived alone in a semidetached house a kilometre from the town centre.
Divers from the Garda Water Unit were continuing to search the river Suir, about 1.5km from the crime scene, for a possible murder weapon. So far they have covered more than a kilometre of riverbed.
Investigators are tight-lipped about progress, but are understood to be keeping an open mind on a motive for the murder of Mr Walsh, who was a familiar figure cycling around Carrick-on-Suir including along the popular Blueway connecting the town with Clonmel.
They have renewed their appeal for anyone with information to come forward, including any road users who were in the area of Cregg Road, Carrick-On-Suir, between 8pm on August 1st and 3.30am on August 4th.
Additionally, anyone who may have camera or dashcam footage and was travelling in the area at the time is asked to make it available to gardaí at Clonmel station on 052 617-7640, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any station.
