THE HOMELESS man found beaten to death close to his tent in Cork was a talented chef who battled alcohol addiction for much of his life.
53-year-old Timothy Hourihane was killed in the early hours of Sunday, October 13th in a callous and seemingly unprovoked attack.
In the wake of his sudden passing, details have emerged of his heart-breaking battle against addiction and struggles with life on the streets.
Once a chef, Hourihane’s success saw him serve food to the likes of Elton John.
However, like so many, he feel on hard times and eventually found himself homeless.
The Bantry-born Irishman opened up about his struggles during an interview with the Irish Times back in 2017.
Sleeping rough at the time, Hourihane was interviewed while attending a Christmas Dinner for the homeless organised by the charity Penny Dinners.
The charity provides meals to the homeless and continued to help Hourihane in the years since the interview took place.
Speaking to the newspaper during the special medal provided by the River Lee Hotel, the Irishman’s sense of humour and faith shone through.
He said: “This is relaxing, and I feel safe. This is my happiest day for a long time. Because I went to the church. I came here. People are lovely.”
The interview also saw Hourihane open up about his addiction battles and struggles with life sleeping on the streets.
“I stayed off alcohol for a year and a quarter and I was proud of that. At least I am trying. I was on the Simon (Community) floor last evening, but we were out at seven this morning. So, I am glad to be here.”
“Homelessness is out of control,” he added. “When you sleep on the streets you are lucky to wake up with your trainers still on.”
"It has happened to me where I have woken up with one trainer missing. You have to laugh cos you think why didn’t they take the two?"
Garda Superintendent Michael Comyns, of Anglesea Street station has appealed for anyone with any information related to the crime to come forward.
“We are appealing for anyone who was in the area from 11pm to 1am to contact us and particularly if they saw anything of a suspicious nature or anything at all really to contact us.
“It is a homicide investigation. For operational reasons we are not going to release information on the injuries, but he does have injuries consistent with being assaulted.”
They are appealing for help from passing drivers and motorists who may be able to provide them with additional footage via dash cams and mobile phones.
