Galway sister demands justice for Philomena Gillane – 20 years on

The Galway sister of murdered Philomena Gillane has demanded that the investigation be reopened as nobody has ever been charged in relation to the savage killing.

Mother of one Philomena Gillane (41) from Caltra was shot and then brutally stabbed before her body was thrown into the boot of a car which was abandoned at Athlone Railway Station.

Now, her sister Bridie Gordon has called for the investigation to be reopened and for Philomena’s jewellery and clothing to be returned.

It is the 20th anniversary of the death of Philomena. At the time it was a murder which shocked the nation because of its brutality. Phil was seven months pregnant at the time.

“We have got no justice for the death of Philomena,” Bridie Gordon said this week in an interview with the Connacht Tribune.

Philomena’s husband Pat Gillane (who was 35 at the time) from, Glenbrack, Gort was convicted of soliciting two men to kill his wife and was sentenced to six years in prison.

During the trial it emerged that Pat Gillane and Bridie Gordon had been having an affair behind her back.

Ballinasloe Supt Gerry Roche said that the file on the matter was still open and was reviewed on a regular basis.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.