Man arrested in connection with Meath hotel double murder in 1987 released without charge

Thomas Ta Power Source: Garda Press Office

Updated 10.17pm

A MAN ARRESTED in connection with a double murder at a Co Meath hotel in 1987 has been released without charge.

Gardaí in Drogheda had arrested the man, aged in his 60s, this morning in the Dublin area in connection with the murders committed over 30 years ago.

On Tuesday 20 January 1987, Thomas “Ta” Power and John O’Reilly were shot dead at the Rosnaree Hotel on the Dublin Road, outside Drogheda, Co Louth. Both were members of the INLA.

The pair had arrived at the hotel with two other men at around 4.30pm that day. Around 45 minutes later, another car arrived and two men entered the hotel.

They pulled nylon stockings over their faces, walked into the bar and began firing at the four men.

John O’Reilly was pronounced dead at the scene, while Power died of his injuries later in hospital.

The gunmen fled in a Toyota Cressida which was found burnt out thirty miles away in Summerhill, Co Meath.

The man arrested in connection with the murders was detained today in the Dublin area.

He is currently being held at Drogheda Garda Station under Section 30 Offences Against the State Act.

The case was reconstructed in an episode of RTÉ’s Crimecall earlier this year.

In an appeal in March, gardaí said that they were hoping “with the passage of time, a change in personal circumstances, someone may now be in a position to come forward”.

Additional reporting Cianan Brennan

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