Two bodies found at Kerry home may have lain there for weeks

A 'reclusive' couple found dead in their Kerry cottage have been named locally as Hazel and David Byrne, aged in their 50s

Garda scenes of crime tape wraps across the entrance to the cottage where the bodies of a couple were found in Kerry, outside Glenbeigh.

Gardaí suspect their deaths were a double suicide and they are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.

The couple, named locally as Hazel and David Byrne, were aged in their 50s and originally from Co Cork, it is understood.

They are suspected to have lain dead in their home for some time, possibly since late last year.

A forensics team left the scene at 3.37pm on Tuesday and a post mortem is expected to be carried out on Wednesday, which will determine the course of the garda investigation.

The couple bought the quaint bungalow, sheltered by trees and shrubs and tucked into a corner behind a local bus stop at Coolnaharragill Upper near Mountain Stage on the Ring of Kerry outside Glenbeigh approximately nine years ago, neighbours said.

They were described as reclusive, living almost like ghosts in the tight-knit Kerry community.

Despite living a stone's throw from a café and shop, no one seemed to know them, other than to say a brief 'hello'.

“They were very quiet people, they kept themselves to themselves,” said one neighbour, who asked not to be named.

“It was such a shock when we woke up to this news.

“They didn’t mix with anyone, but the woman would say hello if you saw her.” 

Another neighbour said that her dog has been sniffing at the house and trying to enter the property in recent weeks.

“We walk around the ring every day and the dog has been trying to get in over the past couple of months. She must have known something was wrong.

“It’s so sad. You’d see her driving on the road or in Sheehan’s shop.

“But they were such private people. God love them, the craters.

“They’ve been living here nine or 10 years, they bought that house.

“It’s very sad in this day and age. It’s sad to be a neighbour and think it could have been prevented.” 

The village of Mountain Stage, Glenbeigh, Co Kerry, where the bodies of two people in their 50s were discovered. Picture Dan Linehan

The couple's bodies were found at their home near Mountain Stage on the Ring of Kerry outside Glenbeigh early on Tuesday mourning by Kerry County Fire Service.

It was initially suspected that there may have been a carbon monoxide poisoning at the property. 

“There’s a dark cloud over the community today,” local Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill said.

“That couple have been here for a number of years now and very few seem to know anything about them.

“On occasion, you'd see them walking on the beach in the late evening but they kept themselves very much to themselves.

“They haven't been seen for a while but I suppose how that went unnoticed was the fact that they'd hardly be out at all anyway.” 

The area is still morning the tragic death of Jack de Bromhead, the 13-year-old son of racehorse trainer Henry de Bromhead, who fell from his mount on the nearby Rossbeigh beach in the Glenbeigh Racing Festival in 2022, Mr Cahill said.

“The community was only starting to come to terms with that and now this," he said.

“And nobody seems to know much about them [this couple] which makes it all the sadder.

“I extend my sincere sympathies to the families involved."

Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances following the discovery of two bodies today in Glenbeigh, Co. Kerry, a garda statement said.

“The bodies of a man and a woman, both believed to be in their 50s, were discovered at a domestic residence earlier today.

“The Coroner and the office of the State Pathologist have been notified.

“The two bodies currently remain at the scene, pending preliminary technical examination, and will be removed for a post-mortem examination, which will take place in due course.

“Results of the post-mortem will determine the exact course of the Garda investigation.”