Ireland needs to rid itself of the greed mentality afflicting the country since the advent of the Celtic Tiger, a priest said yesterday at the funeral of an 82-year-old man found dead in suspicious circumstances last weekend.
Fr Malachy Hallinan, parish priest at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Westside, Galway, made his remarks at the funeral of Mick Creighton, whose body was found in his apartment in Mullingar on Sunday.
Mr Creighton, a retired engineer with Westmeath County Council, was buried in Rahoon Cemetery on the outskirts of Galway city.
Several hundred mourners, many of whom travelled from Mullingar, heard Fr Hallinan say that while the Celtic Tiger had brought many good things to this country, there was also a downside. "We need to wake up to some of its realities, not least the greed which has changed our way of life."
He added that the deceased was a person who made a huge contribution to his community and remained active up to his death. Mr Creighton is survived by his sisters: Mary, Kitty, Nina and Dympna; and brothers Paddy and Andrew. Gardaí have renewed their appeal for help in tracking down his attacker.
They have appealed to anybody who may have seen Mr Creighton between 11am on Friday and 5pm on Sunday to contact them. They are also appealing to anyone who may have seen something suspicious in the Castle Street area of Mullingar over the weekend to contact them at 044-84000.