5 November 1979: Thomas Gilhooley, 25-year-old Protestant, married with 2 children and a Prison Officer was employed at the Crumlin Road prison. Mr. Gilhooly was leaving work and drove his car from the car park at Landscape Terrace on the Crumlin Road when an IRA gunman shot him. The attack occurred when he stopped his car at a junction and waited for a break in traffic. The gunman shot him from the footpath and hit Mr. Gilhooley. He slumped across the wheel and then more shots were fired. Shots were fired at the gunman by another prison officer who happened to be on the scene but the gunman was not hit. Mr. Gilhooley was from the New Mossley estate at Carnmoney and had been a prison officer for 2 years. He was a Scotsman and had served with the army in Northern Ireland and stayed after he married a local woman. The IRA issued a statement in which they claimed responsibility for the killing. A prison chaplain said: Thomas Gilhooley worked on reception dealing with prisoners relatives, many of whom testified to the polite and friendly way in which he treated them. I personally found him to be a most helpful character. LEST WE FORGET!
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 23:20:09 +0000
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