Harry Ringwood, an Enniscorthy man who has admitted stabbing his wife.

by Louise McCarthy

WEXFORD was plunged into shock when news emerged that a high profile businessman originally from Enniscorthy has reportedly accepted responsibility for  the brutal stabbing of his wife at their apartment in Lutry, Switzerland.

Mr Harry Ringwood(48), originally from Rectory Rd., Enniscorthy, allegedly stabbed his wife Galina Shevchenko, about 50 times in a domestic argument, and then tried to take his own life at the Grand Rue 2 apartment.

Test results have indicated that Mr Ringwood consumed a massive cocktail of alcohol and drugs. He was hospitalised after the discovery of his wife’s body on March 23.

A former class mate at CBS, Enniscorthy, Eamon Doyle, expressed utter disbelief at the news.

Mr Doyle attended the CBS with David and his twin brother, David Ringwood.

He told The Echo that the Ringwood twins were very well-liked, but were quiet and did not play sports or drink alcohol. Although Mr Doyle has not seen or spoken to Harry Ringwood since 1984, when they finished the CBS, he recalled him clearly as ”very friendly and very thoughtful.”

”He shared a similar interest in music to me; he liked rockabilly and rock n’ roll, and he was extremely intelligent. It has come as a shock, as he comes from a lovely family,” said Mr Doyle.

Harry’s father, the late Harry Ringwood Senior, was fondly known as the ‘elder statesman of the Shannon.’

He was an accomplished barber based in Enniscorthy and was well-known in drama circles throughout Ireland. In 2009, with his wife Theresa, he was among a select group of parishioners honoured with Papal recognition for their contribution to St Senan’s Parish.

Following his Leaving Certificate, Harry Junior, studied at Waterford Institute of Technology, and after attaining his qualifications he became a  high flying executive working all over the world.

In 1997  he began working for Philip Morris International,a  global cigarette and tobacco company. Ms Shevchenko, originally from Kazachstan, joined this company in 1997 and worked as a Project Manager, six months ago she became Project Manager of Financial Systems. She was still employed in the company at Lausanne up until her brutal death.

However, Mr Ringwood departed Philip Morris International in 2007, and currently holds the position of Director of Communications at QTC Global, in Geneva.

The Ringwood family has experienced several tragedies in recent years; Harry’s older sister Noelle, a renowned librarian in Bray, was killed in a car crash at Camolin in 2012.

She was driving from Wicklow to have Sunday lunch with her parents in Enniscorthy.

His sister, Imelda McDonagh, tragically lost her husband Noel, in 1991 after he was electrocuted in a freak accident.

She has gained national acclaim as a theatre director and carried out workshops at the Wexford Arts Festival over the years. Her direction of Gorey Musical Society’s ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ saw her nominated for a national award in 2003.

His  brother Damian Ringwood who is based in Dublin currently holds the position of Managing Partner at global firm Amrop Stragesis.