Ireland’s Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor has broken her silence on the Bray Boxing Club gun attack that left her father in hospital with serious injuries.
Boxing trainer Pete Taylor is in a stable condition in hospital following the attack.
However, 50-year-old Bobby Messett – believed to have been an innocent bystander - was shot dead when a gunman opened fire at the Bray Boxing Club on Tuesday morning.
His funeral takes place at 11.30 this morning at St Mochonog's Church in Kilmacanogue in Co. Wicklow.
Another man, Ian Britton is also in a stable condition in hospital.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Taylor offered her heartfelt condolences to Mr Messett’s family.
“I can’t imagine the despair or the sense of injustice they must be dealing with,” she said.
“I’m praying they know God’s comfort in the hard days ahead.”
She said she is very thankful that her father has "made it through this horrific attack and is recovering well."
“I understand there is still a lot of uncertainty about the nature of the incident but I’m hoping the Gardaí will get to the bottom of it very soon,” she said.
She said she has been estranged from her father for a number of years, noting that she has had “little contact with him” and “no contact or association whatsoever with Bray Boxing Club since 2015.”
She also took aim at what she called the “misuse of my name and image during the reporting of this incident in the media coverage.”
“It has been reckless and irresponsible,” she said. “And a deliberate attempt to inappropriately leverage my name to sell a story.”
“I urge the media to leave me, my Mum and other family members out of this story.”
In a final message to Mr Messett’s family, she said: “You didn’t deserve this heartache, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
