KEITH Barry has decided not to be consumed by seeking justice for the killers of his grandfather.
But the magician said: “I will always be angry . . . I haven’t found closure from this, I never will.”
Grandad Paddy Barry, 82, who was found injured in his house in Waterford following an attempted burglary in September 2009.
The OAP later died in hospital after falling into a coma.
No one has ever been charged over the vicious killing, despite a file being sent to the Director of Public Prosecution by Gardai.
Keith said: “My grandfather was beaten black and blue. His head was beaten against the ground and for the last 16 years no one has been caught.
“I got very angry about it and wanted the people responsible caught.”
But Keith said the Garda investigation has not led to any charges being brought, adding: “It’s supposed to be an open case but no one is bothering to investigate.
“In my mind Paddy Barry was murdered.”
Gardai insist the matter was fully investigated.
However, TV star Keith told the Grief Podcast with Venetia Quick how the alleged name of his grandfather’s killer was spray painted on walls in Waterford town, and in nearby Tramore.
He said: “The message named a person who they said should be investigated. It must be the same person who is spray painting this everywhere.
“You don’t need to be Inspector Clouseau to check the CCTV and see who is doing it. But I informed the Gardai.
“My cousin tells me that Gardai have appointed a new liaison officer on the case. They spoke to my cousin but they haven’t rung me. I thought ‘here we go again’.
“What we need is a savvy, hungry investigative garda. If the people who did this to my grandad were in their 30s at the time, they would be in their 50s now. It would be beneficial to get them off the streets.”
Keith, 48, said he had since taken a personal decision not to be consumed by the case.
He explained: “You go through grief, and you’re shocked and you get angry but then you realise this is consuming me for years.
“So you have to make a choice and go, ‘am I going to let this consume my life now as some people do?’ You can look for justice, this can’t become my life, so I won’t let it consume me.
NO CLOSURE
“But I will always be angry. My grandfather was 82, he was smoking a cigarette in his house with the alarm on, and three locks on the door and a number of people broke his door down and beat him up, he died five days later.
“It’s not a death anybody should have to deal with in a family because it’s not the shock of him dying, it’s the shock he didn’t die from natural causes. I haven’t found closure from this, I never will.”
And Keith revealed how his dad, Ken, passed away last month after a battle with cancer without the closure of having Paddy’s killers brought to justice.
Gardai say they do not comment on named individuals.
But a spokesperson said: “Gardaí are aware of and conducted an investigation into reports of graffiti . . . and allegations made regarding the burglary investigation that occurred in 2009.
“Gardai conducted an extensive investigation in relation to these allegations. This matter was fully investigated and the allegations made were of no assistance to the burglary investigation.”
