Murder of Tom Oliver on the 20/7/91

Gardaí at Ardee Garda Station are investigating the murder of forty-three year old Tom Oliver that occurred between Friday 19th and Saturday 20th July 1991.

Tom Oliver was a father of seven (six girls and one boy) and was well known and highly respected member of his local community in the Cooley Peninsula, Co. Louth.

On Friday 19th July, Tom was at home and working on his farm. Later that evening he left home to attend to a calving cow. It was around 1am on the morning of the 20th. Next morning, Tom’s wife discovered he was not at home and asked Eugene, their only son, to check the farm but Tom was not there.

Gardaí believe Tom was abducted from his farm in Riverstown, Co. Louth around 1.30am on that Saturday morning. His car was found in a nearby field about a quarter of a mile away from where he was abducted and he was reported missing at 6am on Friday 19th. His body was found a short time later by the RUC and British Army in the small village and town land of Belleeks in South Armagh. He had been shot a number of times.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who has information on the status of a 1978 black Toyota Carina that was purchased by three men in the Knockbridge area of Co. Louth just off the Ardee to Dundalk Road. The car was not in good repair, the engine was burning oil and the boot lid was in poor condition. Gardaí believe this car was in the Cooley area at the time of Tom’s abduction and that he was concerned enough about this car to take note of its registration number on a packet of cigarettes and so it may be of significance in relation to his abduction and murder.

Appeal

• Gardaí are appealing to anyone with any information on the car in question to please come forward, no matter how seemingly insignificant this information may be.

• Gardaí are especially interested in talking to anyone who may have been present during the purchase of the car. Gardaí believe that people present at the purchase of the car may not have been aware of the intended purposed in buying the car.

• Gardaí would like to talk to anyone who may know where the car was stored and would like to point out that it would have been stored in the Louth area.

• Gardaí are appealing to anyone with any information on the abduction and murder of Tom Oliver to come forward. Gardaí are hoping that with the passage of time and a change in personal circumstances that someone may now be in a position to come forward.

Gardaí at Ardee Garda Station are investigating tel: +353 41 6853222