People have been regularly stopping at the scene of the farmer’s gruesome murder just outside Kenmare, Co. Kerry, to take selfies, according to Mr Healy-Rae.
Gardaí have laid out traffic cones to stop cars from pulling in at the site, and Mr Healy-Rae has now appealed to people to consider Mr Gaine’s grieving family and urged passers-by to stop treating the area as if it were a tourist attraction.
He told Newstalk: "You have people thinking that there’s something good about getting out of their car and taking selfies at the site of his farm. That’s not good behaviour. There are families involved; there are people deceased."
Michael Healy Rae.
Mr Healy-Rae went on to describe his confusion over the situation and added: "You’re not standing at the Cliffs of Moher. Why do people think that it is socially acceptable – it could be someone falling, and people think they can take a picture or, worse again, a video.
"Could people please be thoughtful of other people? How would people feel if it was their family member? It’s not the locals, obviously. It’s national and international tourists and day visitors to the area.
"This is in very poor taste as it was a local man who was murdered in the most horrific way. We all knew him, his family are living in the locality and yet people are stopping to take photos, films and, worse still, selfies.
"It is just completely disrespectful and upsetting for us all. They should think about other people’s feelings.
"To be taking pictures of where a man has been brutally murdered, or where people are seriously injured, and then posting it up on the internet for hits, is beyond humanity."
Mr Gaine was last seen on March 20 when he purchased phone credit in the local Centra shop in Kenmare. His disappearance prompted an extensive search, and his remains were found weeks later.
A former US Marine, Michael Kelley, who had worked on Mr Gaine’s farm, was arrested and released without charge. Gardaí continue to investigate Mr Gaine’s death.
Similar situations have happened at sites linked to Ireland’s most notorious murders. The Foxrock home of killer Graham Dwyer had, at one time, become a hotspot for people to visit.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
Comments