Separate funeral arrangements expected for Mitchelstown brothers

It is understood that Johnny Hennessy, will be buried in Mitchelstown first on Wednesday, followed by Willie and Paddy in a separate ceremony on Thursday.

Brothers Willie and Paddy Hennessey from Curraghgorm, near Kildorrery pictured in 2009. The brothers were found dead in a suspected murder-suicide in north Cork. Picture: Seán Burke/Provision

Separate funeral arrangements are expected for the three brothers who died as a result of an apparent murder-suicide. 

The bodies of the three Cork brothers have been released back to their families after a post-mortem took place at the weekend. 

While funeral arrangements have not been made public, it is understood that Johnny, who attacked and killed his brothers before taking his own life, will be buried in Mitchelstown first on Wednesday, followed by Willie and Paddy in a separate ceremony on Thursday.

Willie Hennessy, 66, and his brother Patrick, 60, were found dead on Friday morning at their family farm at Curraghgorm, near Kildorrery on the Mitchelstown to Mallow road.

It is believed that their brother Johnny Hennessy, 59, killed them with an axe, before his body was found at the River Funshion around midday on Friday.

Willie was a single man who lived in Mitchelstown but he spent a lot of time on the farm.

Patrick was a separated father of two but he had an address nearby, and he also spent a lot of his time on the farm.

Johnny, their younger brother, was single and he lived on the farm.

Technical examinations ongoing

Post mortem examinations on the three bodies were conducted over the weekend by locum state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster at Cork University Hospital. However, gardaí are not releasing the results of the autopsies due to operational reasons. 

A number of scenes continue to be preserved, and technical examinations are ongoing.

Gardaí are appealing for anyone who has information in relation to the incident to come forward.

GSOC investigation

Meanwhile, GSOC, the policing watchdog, has confirmed it is investigating whether one of the three brothers contacted gardaí prior to the tragedy unfolding.

This is the second murder-suicide to occur on a farm in North Cork in recent months.

Another tragic incident occurred in October of last year, when Tadg O’Sullivan (59) and his two sons Diarmuid (23) and Mark (26) were found dead on their family farm in Kanturk.

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