Murdered man’s brother was killed in ‘vicious assault’ in 2007

The body of 30-year-old Pat Ward was discovered at McCrea Park in Clogher on Saturday morning.

The PSNI said they are treating Mr Ward’s death as murder.

Originally from Co Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, Mr Ward had been living in the Clogher area for some time before his death, a local DUP councillor told the News Letter on Sunday.

Two people – a woman aged 33 and a man aged 23 – have been arrested on suspicion of Mr Ward’s murder.

The two remained in custody on Sunday afternoon, police said.

His brother, Tom Ward, was aged 23 when in 2007 he was killed outside his home in Sligo in what was described at the time as a “vicious assault”.

According to newspaper reports in the Republic of Ireland at that time, he died after being attacked while sitting in his van outside his parents’ home in the Cranmore Estate.

Shock has been expressed in both Clogher and Sligo following the discovery of Pat Ward’s body at 8.15am on Saturday.

Fine Gael Sligo councillor Hubert Keaney told the News Letter Mr Ward’s family still live in Sligo.

“Of course this is a tragic thing to happen to any family, no matter what their background is,” he said.

“Our sympathy must go to the family after what has happened to a very young man.

“It is a great shock to the entire community in Sligo.

“He is originally from Sligo and the rest of his family, a quite large extended family, is in Sligo so our sympathies must go out to them.”

DUP Clogher Valley councillor Wills Robinson said: “I believe he (Pat Ward) had been living in McCrea Park for some time. I know the area in Clogher where it happened and it is not something that happens here.

“Clogher is a very quiet, country village and this has come as a great shock to the people of the village to see a murder investigation.

“No-one wants to see something like this happen and the entire community has been shocked.

“Any right-thinking person must condemn what has happened.”

Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew, said: “News that a man’s body was found in an alleyway in the McCrea Park area of Clogher has shocked the local community.

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased at this time.”