Family of Galwayman insist death not suicide

Three heartbroken members of a South East Galway family have spoken of the loss of their brother nearly four years ago in German . . . and insist he did not die by suicide.

They believe he was murdered; the authorities there say otherwise and the Government here are not listening to their compelling case, the family say.

In Matthew Fitzpatrick’s home in the quiet residential area of Shannon Park in Portumna, everything that he ever treasured during his life has been retained.

His love of music, and particularly traditional Irish music, his guitar, a Connacht rugby ball (he and his brother Patrick were fanatics) and stacks of CDs adorn the room that he called his own in the home house.

It is referred to by the family as the ‘red room’ simply because it was once painted red and then they decided that it was probably not the right colour and changed it.

They are united in the one belief – Matthew did not take his own life. They never believed that from the outset.

On December 11, 2011, Matthew Fitzpatrick’s body was found on the floor of his apartment in Mannheim in Germany. Matthew had spent three years there working for a Cork-based company.

In the days before his death, Matthew had been in contact with family members at home informing them of plans of his arrival for the Christmas. He was in great spirits.

Back in Portumna the Fitzpatricks were preparing for Christmas and were looking forward to another memorable get-together.

Then it was devastation.  The dreaded phone call from Danny Fitzpatrick came to his sister Elaine. He was told that Matthew had committed suicide.

“From the moment he said it, it didn’t make any sense,” Elaine told The Connacht Tribune. “There was no way that this could have been true”.

Elaine informed other members of the family and there was a similar reaction. “Even on reflection there was nothing in Matthew’s behaviour or conversations that he had any intention of taking his own life,” Elaine added.

A post mortem in Germany concluded that Matthew had died by suicide as a result of him hanging himself. This has been vehemently disputed by his family.

The family ordered a second post mortem when his body was repatriated to Ireland and it found that there were 45 other injuries to his body and other findings have convinced the family Matthew was murdered.

They have spent four years trying to have the case reopened, but without success.

Now they want the Irish Government to help them. But despite repeated requests, the large, close-knit family has not yet received a substantive response from Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, former Minister Eamon Gilmore, or acting Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan.

Read more in this week’s Connacht Tribune