{"id":336394,"date":"2025-08-11T18:33:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T18:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/336394\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T18:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T18:33:24","slug":"downpatrick-murder-investigation-stephen-brannigan-man-killed-pictured-as-priest-attack-treated-as-attempted-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/336394\/","title":{"rendered":"Downpatrick murder investigation Stephen Brannigan: Man killed pictured as priest attack treated as attempted murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Dark cloud over Downpatrick\u2019 says local councillorFr John Murray, who was due to retire this week, sustained a \u2018very serious head injury\u2019 in what is believed to be a linked attackParishioner says people \u2018totally shocked\u2019 by incident in church\u2018No risk to public\u2019 following incidents says PSNI\n<\/p>\n

The PSNI has also reassured the Downpatrick community there is \u201cno ongoing risk to the public\u201d after the death of Stephen Brannigan, believed to be aged in his 50s, following an incident in the Marian Park area of the town on Sunday. <\/p>\n

Police have also confirmed they are investigating a link between the death and the attack on Fr John Murray, who remains in a \u201cserious but stable condition\u201d in hospital.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

Stephen Brannigan<\/p>\n

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Gary Robinson said:”On Sunday morning, August 10, at approximately 10.10am, police received a report that a priest had been seriously assaulted.<\/p>\n

“This was in a church in the St Patrick\u2019s Avenue area of the town.<\/p>\n

“A man entered the church and brutally attacked the priest with a bottle. The victim was taken to hospital for treatment to a head injury. Here, he remains in a serious, but stable, condition.<\/p>\n

“While attending this serious assault, at around midday, police received a report of the death of a man at an address in the Marian Park area.<\/p>\n

“Officers attended along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. Sadly, the man, who is aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

“Following initial enquires, a murder investigation was launched, and a 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder. He has also been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and remains in custody at this time.<\/p>\n

“Our investigations into both the murder and attempted murder are at the early stages. While I can confirm that one line of enquiry is that the two are connected, I would reiterate that our enquiries are ongoing in an effort to establish the facts surrounding both incidents.<\/p>\n

“I am keen to appeal to anyone who was in the St Patrick’s Avenue area of Downpatrick between 9am and 11am on Sunday, or the Marian Park area between 12 midnight and 12 noon on Sunday, and saw or heard anything untoward, to please come forward and speak to us.<\/p>\n

“Any detail, no matter how small, could be of vital importance to our investigation. I would ask anyone with information, CCTV or dash cam footage to contact us on 101, quoting reference 713 of 10\/08\/25.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr Murray, who was due to retire on Thursday, was preparing to celebrate his final Mass at St Patrick\u2019s Church in Downpatrick when the attack took place.<\/p>\n

\"Fr<\/p>\n

Fr John Murray (above) was attacked just before he was about to say his final mass at St Patrick\u2019s Church\u00a0in Downpatrick. Photo: Pacemaker<\/p>\n

Speaking on Good Morning Ulster on Monday morning, Fr Eddie McGee described Fr Murray as a \u201cwell known and very well respected priest\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all praying for his recovery at this stage. It is an absolute shock for parishioners who witnessed this terrible event yesterday,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe parishioners said they started gathering in the church in Downpatrick and mass was to be celebrated at about 10.30am.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems that about 15-20 minutes before mass, a gentleman approached the sacristy, looking for Fr John Murray, asking if he would hear his confession.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was at that stage, he was attacked. The parishioners, who witnessed this brutal attack, they then called the PSNI and the emergency services to then come to the aid of Fr Murray.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"St<\/p>\n

St Patrick’s Church, St Patrick\u2019s Avenue, Downpatrick<\/p>\n

Fr McGee added: \u201cIt was an absolute shock, our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with the family of the gentleman who was murdered in Downpatrick, his wife, his two daughters, his wider family. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe loss of life in such brutal circumstances, is just very difficult to comprehend.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added that Fr Murray was \u201chighly regarded\u201d and had \u201ccommitted his whole life to the service of the people\u201d <\/p>\n

“This [attack] is not what people would expect to have happened in Downpatrick,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n

“I can say that many people have been in contact with both the diocese and with the priests of the local surrounding area to convey their words of support and their prayer for Fr Murray. <\/p>\n

“I have no doubt that there will be other opportunities for people to gather in prayer. <\/p>\n

“Bishop Alan McGuckian has went across to visit the hospital last night to meet with the family of Fr Murray at this time.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n

\u2018It was mayhem in the church. People were aghast at what had happened. Totally shocked. People can’t take it in.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

77-year-old parishioner Raymond Rooney was present at the time of the attack on Fr Murray. He had been at the chapel an hour before mass was due to start. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe sacristan was there, he was around doing his work. Then this man came in on his own,\u201d he told BBC NI. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe sacristan was up at the altar and this man, he said something to the sacristan, he sounded a bit aggressive, it was only a couple of words, then he shouted something but I couldn\u2019t catch it, it\u2019s a big church.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went round the corner, that was it, the sacristan disappeared.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr Rooney said he remembered suddenly hearing \u201cloud crying\u201d and added that Fr Murray arrived five to ten minutes later.<\/p>\n

He said he alerted Fr Murray to the man\u2019s presence: \u201cI said that there was a man around the corner there, and he is crying out loud and talking out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201cFr Murray ran in and I heard voices, I couldn\u2019t hear what they were saying. I heard the door closing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout maybe five minutes later the man left, he must have said something to Fr Murray. The last word I could hear was \u2018father\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the women started to gather and somebody said: \u2018Father Murray is injured\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the police arrived – there was commotion, everyone was talking and then I heard the ambulance arrive.<\/p>\n

“It was mayhem in the church. People were aghast at what had happened. Totally shocked. People can’t take it in.”<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

Left: Stephen Brannigan. Right: Fr John Murray. Both men were attacked in Downpatrick on Sunday, August 10, 2025.<\/p>\n

Police at the scene of Downpatrick murder <\/p>\n

A funeral notice for Mr Brannigan described him as a \u201cdearly beloved husband\u201d and a \u201cloving\u201d father and grandfather. Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

SDLP councillor Conor Galbraith said neighbours had described Mr Brannigan as a \u201cquiet lad\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe got up in the morning and got about his work, but anyone in the estate needed anything done, he was the first to do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to the two daughters, they are devastated, Stephen\u2019s fathers was in bits, it was awful, so so sad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a dark cloud over Downpatrick yesterday, there was a vigil held last night, it was an opportunity for people to show support, it shows that everyone has each other\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newry, Mourne and Down, District Commander Superintendent Norman Haslett has said there is \u201cno ongoing risk\u201d to the public following the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to express my sympathy to family members, friends and the wider community in Downpatrick who are today left shaken by the tragic events of the weekend,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

“For a man to be murdered and a Priest to be attacked in the sanctity of his own church, these are appalling acts and I understand that many people will inevitably be struggling to come to terms with both grief and shock.<\/p>\n

“I want to reassure the local community that there is no ongoing risk to the public and you will see an increased visible police presence in the area over the next few days.<\/p>\n

“Information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018Dark cloud over Downpatrick\u2019 says local councillorFr John Murray, who was due to retire this week, sustained a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[748,1384,393,108813,4884,12,1144,1610,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-336394","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-down-news","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-gabrielle-swan","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115011571624446177","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}