Council to remove Mayo roadside memorials dedicated to murdered young man

MAYO County Council has confirmed that roadside memorials dedicated to 21-year-old Joe Deacy, who was murdered in the Swinford area in 2017, are to removed.

Mr. Deacy, from St Alban's, Hertfordshire,was discovered with head injuries outside a house at Gortnasillagh, Swinford, on August 12, 2017, and he later died in hospital.

A murder investigation was subsequently launched by gardaí and it is still ongoing.

In a statement issued this evening to Midwest Radio, the council confirmed that two memorials erected in Joe's memory, one on the N5 and the other on Kinaffe Road, are to be removed.

The statement said the council respected the need for people to erect roadside memorials, but must also provide a safe and efficient road network for all road users, as safety of all road users is a top priority.

The issue of roadside memorials will be on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting of the council's road and transport strategic policy committee, the statement added.

A member of the Deacy family told the radio station that the memorials are an important part of the healing process for Joe's extended family and friends.

The family is very disappointed and upset the memorials are being removed because of 'visual distraction to passing motorists'.