Gardaí question three men over death of farmer

THREE men arrested yesterday in connection with an alleged assault on a farmer who later died of a heart attack were last night released without charge.

A Garda spokesperson said a file was being prepared for the DPP.

The three men were arrested at different addresses in the Rylane area, near Coachford, Co Cork.

One of the men was described as being in his 50s, while the other two were in their 20s.

They were said by garda sources to be related.

Following the arrests, which took place around 8am, all three men were taken to Bandon garda station for questioning.

The men were questioned about the death of 65-year-old John Twomey, from Mount Rivers, Rylane.

Mr Twomey and his 68-year-old brother, Pat, were alleged to have been assaulted by another man during a row at their farm last Tuesday week.

Despite being injured, the brothers made it back to their farmhouse and managed to contact the emergency services.

They were put into an ambulance and taken to Cork University Hospital.

However, on the way John Twomey suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

A postmortem carried out by assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, revealed the cause of death was heart attack.

Gardaí believe that the brothers had been involved in a long-running land dispute with another man.

On the day of the alleged assault they had been trying to break down a ditch on the disputed boundary.

John Twomey was buried at St Lachteen’s Cemetery in Stuake yesterday afternoon.