General Clue
The town of Blackgate, County Clare, is a typical small Irish town. Situated only a few miles from the coast, Blackgate boasts a twelfth century church (St. Joseph's), a charming high street and a popular local pub (The Archway Tavern) - which is now becoming a staple on tour bus routes.
Patrick and Bridget Murphy were born and raised in Blackgate. Although Bridget had moved away to England many years ago (and consequently married an English businessman), Patrick was perfectly happy to stay in Blackgate with his friends and family. Patrick always possessed the drive to succeed and he and his best friend Liam had formed a successful business partnership several years ago which resulted in their purchase of The Archway Tavern and, together, they turned it into a roaring success.
Having secured a comfortable income, Patrick decided to pay some attention to his personal life and, after a complicated courtship had married Anne. Although the marriage seemed to be a happy one, to both of their distress it had not produced any children. Anne's brother, Brian was staying with the couple and was telling tales of slammed doors and raised voices.
Patrick was pleased when his old friend Michael returned to Blackgate. Michael Kelly was now a priest and had been assigned to St. Joseph's. However, the fact that Patrick's best friend Liam was also Anne's ex-fiancé simply put fire to the rumors in the town that all was not as it seemed in the Murphy household.
Trouble seemed to erupt an all fronts. Although Patrick put on a brave and courteous face for his many customers, it was acknowledged that Liam's drinking problems had lead to the break-up of the business partnership. Liam, however, bent many ears complaining that he had been ill-done by and insisting that he had never had a drinking problem. The pub's incredible success had Patrick planning to build an expansion - a move which infuriated Blackgate's eccentric Deirdre Connell. Deirdre had started a petition against the expansion and could often be seen outside The Archway Tavern carrying a sign which read "Justice for the wee folk."
Patrick's relationship with his sister had been strained ever since she had moved to England and Una Reilly had lately been heard in the pub avidly describing to all a nasty telephone call that she had overheard between Patrick and Bridget.
The night of the accident had been dark and stormy. Patrick had stayed after the pub had closed to work on the books. After finishing, he went out to his car in the parking lot but found that someone had shot out his tires. He tried phoning home to ask his wife to come to the pub and give him a ride – but there was no answer. He then decided to walk home – even though it meant walking along a long dark road. His body was found by the side of the road early the next morning by Father Kelly, on his way to visit a parishioner, who immediately called the police. Due to the position of the body and the fact that the night had been very dark and rainy, the police originally believed that Patrick was the victim of a tragic hit and run. However, after the post-mortem had been performed and evidence gathered from the pub, the case was viewed as a murder and the suspects narrowed to those now attending Patrick Murphy’s wake.