THE FUNERAL arrangements for Thomas O'Halloran, the Irish pensioner who was stabbed to death in in West London in August, have been announced.
Mr O'Halloran (87) will be laid to rest on Saturday 1 October at midday at the Visitation Church, Greenford, London with burial afterwards at Greenford Park Cemetery.
Thomas was killed in a vicious attack near his home in Runnymede Gardens, Greenfield in West London on August 16.
Originally from Ennistymon in Co Clare, Mr O'Halloran had been riding his mobility scooter when he was stabbed by an individual on 16 August.
Police received a 999 call from a member of the public who found the victim travelling in his scooter from a passageway that runs between Runneymede Gardens and Welland Gardens.
They arrived within minutes to Mr O'Halloran being helped by members of the public. Paramedics took over but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.54pm.
Lee Byer (44) was charged on August 19 with Mr O’Halloran’s murder and possessing a large knife.
Judge Lucraft set a plea hearing for November 8 with a provisional trial of up to three weeks from May 2 2023.
Following his passing, President Michal D Higgins paid tribute to Thomas O'Halloran.
“I can only imagine the deep shock that his family and his friends are experiencing and may I convey my heartfelt condolences to them all," he said.
“The grief that they will be feeling, I can share. It is so difficult to understand why and how such a terrible crime could occur to someone so altruistically minded and indeed cherished in his local community in Greenford.
“May I pay tribute to that generosity and kindness that Thomas showed in his life, as well as to Thomas’s musical talent which he shared so freely, most recently in support of those impacted by the situation in Ukraine.
“I hope that Thomas’s family and friends can draw strength from the legacy of kindness he leaves to the wider Irish community in Britain, of which he was a member for so long.
“Sabina joins me in renewing our deepest condolences to all of those who loved and cared for Thomas. May he rest in peace. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam lámhach.”
