THE former neighbour of the couple who were murdered in their Portadown home on Friday has paid tribute to the “gracious people” his family had lived beside in Lisbellaw for over 20 years.
The bodies of Michael and Marjorie Cawdrey, both in their mid 80’s, were discovered by family members on Friday afternoon. It is believed they were stabbed by an intruder.
A 40-year-old man appeared at Lisburn Magistrates Court charged with the double murder on Tuesday this week. No bail application was made for Thomas Scott McEntee of Moorfield Court, Kilkeel. He was instead remanded into custody to appear before Craigavon Magistrates Court on June 23 via video-link.
Lisbellaw man, David Hamill and his family had lived beside the Cawdrey family for more than two decades.
Describing the news of the couple’s untimely deaths as a “tragic incident” he told the Impartial Reporter yesterday that his family had been deeply saddened by last week’s news.
“You hear these things going on in the world everyday unfortunately, but when you start to realise that those are people you encountered more or less every day for years, and that they lived beside you for a time, it really brings it home to you.”
Michael Cawdrey was born in Kenya in 1933 and after his early education there, was a boarder at Portora Royal School before going on to Trinity College Dublin, where he trained as a veterinarian.
He worked as a veterinary researcher, and had a long and distinguished career working in East Africa and then in Ireland for Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority.
In 1973, following Michael’s transfer to Ballinamore Research Station, where his research work included parasites in livestock, the couple made their home at Lisbellaw, where Marjorie had family connections and it was there where they brought up their three children, Shirley, Graham and Wendy. They attended Gloucester House, Portora Royal School and the Collegiate School.
“They were quite a private couple,” Mr. Hamill recalled, “Very gracious people.
“Mr. Cawdrey was a very intelligent man. He would be away from early morning to work and back again in the evening. So it was really Marjorie that we would have seen more of.
“They had a little boat that they kept when they were living down here.
“When I was talking to my children over the last few days, they all have their own memories of the Cawdrey family, we even remember the name of their dog.

“The Cawdreys’ house was really two houses, that used to be the Henderson Eadie Woodmill in Lisbellaw.
“As the years went by I did often wonder how they were getting on. When they left the book was closed on that chapter and somebody else moved in beside us. 
“But then to hear the news last week, I immediately connected with their time down here.”
After a period of more than 20 years in the Lisbellaw area, the couple had moved to Portadown to be close to their children who had settled in the area. 
They had been residing at Upper Ramone Road, close to Craigavon Area Hospital, when the tragic circumstances occurred on Friday.
Despite being retired from his previous position, Michael continued to work, publishing many well-regarded research articles in a wide range of academic journals in his field. 
He and Marjorie had been directors of veterinary firm, Cawnel Ltd which was dissolved in 2011.
The couple enjoyed meeting up with friends and relatives in the Fermanagh area and their murders came as a great shock.
In a statement, the Cawdrey family said: “ The awful and incomprehensible events of Friday, 26th May have deprived our family of two wonderful people, Michael and Marjorie, who were our father, mother, brother, sister and grandparents. 
“We thank the police for their prompt response and professional actions. 
“We also thank everyone who had expressed sympathy in whatever way and offered help,” the statement concluded.
The funeral service for both Mike and Marjorie will be held next Thursday, June 8, at 2pm in Drumcree Parish Church, Portadown. 
This will be followed by a private cremation.