'It haunts you': Family of Limerick man Roy Collins recalls day he was murdered

THE FATHER of murdered Limerick man Roy Collins has recalled the moment he found his son fighting for his life after he was shot this day 10 years ago.

The 35-year-old father-of-two was shot while he was working at Coin Castle Amusements arcade, in Roxboro on April 9, 2009.

The brutal murder occurred after Wayne Dundon, who is serving life for Roy’s murder, sought revenge after he was jailed for threatening to kill another member of the Collins family in 2004.

Nathan Killeen and James Dillon are also serving lengthy prison sentences for the murder.

Steve Collins and his son Steve Collins Jnr have spoken about the moments they found Roy in the casino after he had been shot.

“A lady came running in saying that a fight was after happening in the casino. I ran in, looked in the door, looked over and seen Roy on his knees over in the corner. He was after being shot in the back. All I could do was go over and cradle him and get an ambulance,” Roy’s father said.

“He was conscious. I looked down and seen a small pool of blood on the ground with a bullet in. I couldn’t believe it. So I called the ambulance and the police and I held him and I cradled him. I tried to comfort him. I thought he was going to make it.”

He said that after Roy was placed on a gurney when the ambulance arrived “he was worried and he could barely breathe at this stage, looking for his mother, telling everyone he loved them. It’s a scary, frightening situation to be in.”

Roy’s brother said that when he was with him on the way to the hospital, he was holding his hand.

“I didn’t want him to talk because when he was talking, you could see his breath becoming shallower and shallower.”

He said that when they got into the hospital, Roy gave his brother a “thumbs up” 40 minutes before he tragically died.

Speaking about their campaign to seek justice for Roy, his brother said: “We couldn’t sit back and see these people get away with it. There was a major campaign and it was tough.”

He said they met the then-Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern and the garda commissioner, and they were asked what they would change.

“The only way to do this is heavy-handed, go in and be in their faces. And in fairness, they came down the following week, they sat outside their houses, they kicked in doors and that’s when everything changed. That’s when Limerick started to become what it is today. Limerick is a different place today compared to back then,” the brother told Live95 on Tuesday morning.

His father said: “It was a terrible cancer in Limerick at the time. People were so afraid of these gangs. I was amazed at the amount of people that turned up that day. The thousands of people that turned up to support us. Without that, we would still be here trying to get justice.”