St Colmcille's 3-13
The Hammers 2-9.
Itis a scoreline which may not resonate beyond the 200 people at St Alban’s Irish Club outside London last Saturday, but for some, it is the most important game of the GAA calendar.
The annual memorial match brings together family, friends and former clubmates of Joe Deacy, who was killed after a violent assault in Mayo six years ago for which no one has been held accountable.
Although a Londoner, Joe's grandparents on his father's side were from Bohola and Swinford in east Mayo and he carried on the Irish mantle in their name. The 21-year-old had even applied for an Irish passport, which arrived in the post shortly after his death.
More than anything, Joe loved Mayo, following the county’s footballers through several epic quests for Sam Maguire.
So frequent were his trips home to visit his cousins, he could rhyme off the London-Knock flight times by heart.
However, six years ago this month, Joe did not make the return flight to London.
On the morning of 12 August 2017, he was found unconscious outside a house he had been staying in at Gortnasillagh, outside Swinford.
The young man had sustained serious head injuries through blunt force trauma. He died the following evening.
Gardaí initially treated the incident as an accident, saying Joe had suffered a tragic fall. But after a post-mortem examination, the case was classed as a murder investigation.
However, six years later, the question of who killed Joe Deacy remains a mystery.
"It's a nightmare. I thought they’d wrap it up in six days. So now I’m at a loss. I don’t know how long it will take to get justice," said Joe’s father, Adrian, at the conclusion of the memorial match on 12 August.
"There’s always hope. We’ve had raised hope before that amounted to nothing. We can’t give up hope, we'll never give up hope and we’ve got to trust the gardaí will eventually get us justice. But how much hope can you have after six years? Blind hope?" he asked.
"This year has hit like a freight train," adds Joe’s sister Charlotte.
"You see his friends here today, they’re married, they’re having children.
"A 21-year-old boy died, and we are missing out on the life of a 27-year-old adult."
Joe's cousins were chatting with him on Snapchat up until around 4am on the morning he was found. At 6.45am, a cyclist spotted Joe in the driveway of the house he was staying in and rang the property owner.
"We were told he had injuries consistent with a bad beating or a car crash," says Joe’s cousin Michelle - who he was staying with and who was first to Mayo University Hospital when the family were alerted.
The Deacy family say that Joe arrived at the Emergency Department wearing just his boxer shorts, his outer clothes were missing.
When contacted by RTÉ this week, a garda spokesperson said: "Two males were arrested in relation to this investigation on 15 November 2017 and a file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP directed no prosecution in this case. Investigations are ongoing."
Relationship with Ireland tainted
Joe's English cousins say their relationship with Ireland will be forever tainted because of the events of six years ago, a vital part of their heritage lost.
"We can’t think about him, we can’t talk about him as a family. We don’t talk about him.
"There are no pictures. We can’t celebrate his life because of how he died," says Joe’s cousin Lauren while wearing a special commemorative jersey in the colours of Joe’s beloved West Ham.
"Mayo should be a place where we go and celebrate our family’s life", adds Joe’s cousin Rebecca.
"If you can go through life keeping that secret: go to work, go to the pub, go to church, I don’t know how you do it. We’re not doing normal things with the pain we’re feeling.
"It’s sad and massively ironic as there weren't two people more Irish than my Mum and Dad, even though they lived over here for most of their lives.
"They were just the proudest Irish people going. Joe just loved going to Mayo. It wasn't even the last thing anyone could think of what happened to him. These things don’t happen, but they did," says Joe's father Adrian.
Local response
Last Sunday, 150 people gathered for an annual memorial walk to the spot where Joe’s body was found at Gortnasillagh.
For the first time, a local pub in Bohola promoted the event, providing refreshments to the Deacy family afterwards.
However, the Deacys have previously decried the "wall of silence" they hae met in east Mayo in their search for answers. Joe’s uncle Paul says he was told during a trip to the area two years ago how it was time for the family to move on.
"We’re not there in Ireland. We have not experienced the various rumours, the gossip, the negativity [and] the apathy that has gone on for the last six years, alongside our search for justice." stated the family in a special programme for Saturday’s match.
A banner on the main N5 roadside commemorating Joe has also been vandalised several times.
"My parents have already lost so much. This just puts horrendous salt into a horrendous wound. It's just so petty and insolent to rip a banner down when that’s not hurting anyone." says Charlotte.
"I don’t know what satisfaction anyone would get slashing a banner that’s just asking for Justice for Joe. My message to the people who vandalised it is that it will be back up again. We’re not going away," adds Adrian.
Others who have prominently supported the Deacy family claim their lives have been made difficult, including the former Cathoirleach of Mayo County Council Brendan Mulroy.
"The reality is that every person that gets involved in the Deacy case or tries to ask for help for the Deacy family in getting answers for Joe is targeted indirectly," the Fianna Fáil councillor said.
"That’s happened to myself. The intimidation tactics just won’t work. There are people out there with information.
"But there is a fear factor out there when people aren’t coming forward and that’s sad."
The Westport councillor also wants a deeper garda investigation.
"I’d be asking [Garda Commissioner] Drew Harris and [Minister for Justice] Helen McEntee to launch a new investigation.
"To go back to day one when Joe was found and the initial decision to treat the incident as an accident and to shine a light on the people who've supported the Deacy family and what forms of intimidation they've been experiencing."
He added: "Why would someone be telling somebody not to be looking for justice for Joe Deacy? That question stands out like a sore thumb."
For others, Joe Deacy’s murder will continue to cast a stain on the county until his killer or killers are caught.
"It’s heartbreaking for this to be associated with Mayo, it leaves a massive dark cloud over Mayo," states Joe's friend Brendan Rowland.
"At times you feel as if the county is against you. It has left a massive dark shadow.
"I ask lads back in Mayo about it, and they say, 'we don’t talk about that’. What kind of answer is that?"
Minister meets Deacy family
In recent weeks, Minister McEntee has taken interest in the case.
"I facilitated a meeting between the minister and Joe Deacy's cousins, Deirdre and Michelle to discuss the ongoing investigation," explains Fine Gael Mayo TD Alan Dillon.
"The purpose was to highlight the urgency of the situation and the need for justice.
"During the meeting, Minister McEntee demonstrated her genuine concern for Joe’s case, and she assured them that Joe's justice remains a priority for the Government."
Deputy Dillon plans to raise Joe's case again in the Dáil in the autumn.
"This case matters. We have an unsolved murder here in Mayo and the public wants answers. I met Joe when I played for Mayo and witnessing the pain his family endures motivates me to seek justice and answers for them," he added.
Gardaí have consistently stated how they believe the key to solving this case lies within the local community in east Mayo. It is understood they are pursuing a fresh line of inquiry and continue to appeal for people to come forward with information.
"Search your conscience please and speak to someone, not necessarily the gardaí. Just tell a friend and get that friend to tell the gardaí," pleads Adrian.
"All we need is someone to come forward and just explain to us what happened to our son.
"If you know anything, even if you think it’s unrelated, tell someone. It may be a pile of rubbish. But it could be the final piece in the jigsaw."
The Deacys retain hope, signing off the match programme saying: "We’re pretty sure we’ll see justice for Joe before Mayo win the All-Ireland."
Gardaí say anyone with information on the murder of Joe Deacy can contact Claremorris Garda Station at 094-937-2080 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
