Bodies of elderly couple may have been in Tipperary home for months

The investigation will be led by gardaí based out of Clonmel Garda Station, who have said they will be investigating all the circumstances

A garda investigation is underway after the discovery of the bodies of a couple in their 70s at a house in south Tipperary where they may have lain dead for a number of months.

A garda spokesperson said that the bodies of the man and woman were found by local gardaí, who attended the home in the Cloneen area, between Fethard and Mullinahone shortly before 4pm on Monday.

It’s understood that people in the area decided to raise the alarm with gardaí after the couple had not been seen for some time. 

Some had believed that as they had not seen them for so long, the couple may have moved away for a period of time. 

The couple are understood to have only moved to the area after their retirement.

The investigation into their deaths is being led by gardaí based out of Clonmel Garda Station, who have said they will be investigating all the circumstances.

A garda investigation is underway after the discovery of the bodies of a couple in their 70s at a house in south Tipperary where they may have lain dead for a number of months.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau are due to perform a forensic examination of the scene. The Office of the State Pathologist was also informed of the incident, and postmortem examinations are set to be carried out.

It is not believed that foul play is suspected in their deaths, although no cause has yet been established.

Local Fine Gael councillor and publican Mark Fitzgerald told the Irish Examiner that he was shocked when he’d heard the news which is being felt by everyone in the area.

“Everyone here is shocked,” he said. “Cloneen is a very small, close-knit village. It’s a sad thing to see happen. As one man said to me ‘we’re on the news, you never expect to see it for people in your own village’.”

Local Independent Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath says while the pandemic certainly impacted people's social interactions, the couple may have just wanted to have a quiet life.

"Life has changed and has changed forever I suppose, we still have warnings about Covid engagements and everything else going on," he said.

"That has its downsides...people are quite scared and quite frightened. Nonetheless, occasionally, over the decades, people do arrive in places like this and might have property and want to have a quiet life."