Kanturk shooting not the first time dispute over land ownership led to tragedy

A Garda checkpoint leading to the farmhouse at Raheen, Kanturk, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

The deaths of Tadgh O’Sullivan and his two adult sons Mark and Diarmuid close to Kanturk in north Cork is not the first time that living and dying over inheritance has led to a 'murder-suicide' incident hitting the headlines.

Fifteen years ago, the community in the quietly scenic Coolyhune, nestled beneath the Blackstairs Mountains on the Carlow/Kilkenny border, privately believed that bachelor Michael Kehoe, aged 38, shot 30-year-old Jim Healy dead on September 3, 2005, in the early hours of the morning after being taunted by Mr Healy that he had bought the land behind Mr Kehoe's back “for a song”.