Double shooting deaths may have been suicide pact

Two young men found dead in Co Monaghan today may have been the victims of a suicide pact.

A legally-held gun was found beside the bodies of the two close friends, named locally as Darren Lavery, 22, and Jonathan McKenna, 21.

Gardaí confirmed that they were not seeking anybody else in connection with the incident at the Lavery family home in Emyvale, five miles north of Monaghan town.

“It would appear it was a suicide pact,” said a Garda source.

The grim discovery was made at the house, which is around half a mile outside Emyvale, at 3am.

Locals expressed shock at the death of the two young men.

Darren Lavery, described as outgoing and unbelievably jolly, lived with his mother, sister and three brothers. His late father had set up a photography business, which was continued on by another of his sons.

Lavery worked as a window-fitter and also as a part-time DJ. He had recently placed an order for a 2005 commercial van.

His friend, Jonathan McKenna, lived nearby with his uncle’s family. His parents had both been killed in a road accident in Emyvale in the late 1990s.

Gardaí discovered the bodies of the two young men with gunshot wounds and preserved the scene for technical examination.

A post-mortem is expected to be carried out later today by the state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.

Emyvale, which is a small village of around 500 people, was the scene of a major search in 1999 for one of the Disappeared.

Gardaí excavated a site in an unsuccessful attempt to find the body of Columba McVeigh, the 17-year-old Tyrone youth who was kidnapped and killed in 1975 by the IRA, at Emyvale.

Last week, the National Suicide Research Foundation reported the number of attempted suicides among young Irish people increased by 7% last year.

The foundation said attempted suicides among men in their early to mid-20s increased by 8% in 2003, while the number of women attempting suicide in their mid to late teens was up 5%.

The Samaritans can be contacted by phoning 1850 609090 or by emailing josamaritans.org.