Shock and horror of murder-suicide spreads to Buttevant

Children, watched by their parents, took to the swings in the local playground on the main street as dusk broke in Buttevant, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded in the nearby park, just down the little lane across the road, only hours before.

Many in the town were caught unaware. Locals deep in conversation along the main street told of how the first they had heard of the death of Jonathan O’Driscoll in the popular nearby walk was on the news, in connection with a story that shocked the community.

Some had just attended a funeral, and first heard of the deaths of two little boys in neighbouring Charleville on the radio before hearing a flurry of sirens tear through the village.