Gardaí arrest man (20s) after postmortem on body of man found in Co Tipperary house

Gardaí have arrested a man in relation to the discovery of a body of a man in his 30s at a house in Ballycrana, Kilross, Co Tipperary, on Wednesday.

The arrested man, aged in his 20s, was detained on Thursday at a Garda station in the Munster region under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. Gardaí are continuing their investigation.

A pathologist from the State Pathologist’s Office carried out a postmortem on the body of the Polish national at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) on Thursday afternoon. Gardaí confirmed the postmortem had been carried out but declined to release any further detail into the cause of the man’s death.

The man, aged in his 30s, was found in an unresponsive state in a downstairs room in the isolated, rented two-storey house in the townland of Ballycrana, outside Kilross near the Tipperary-Limerick border, by members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) from Cahir at about 4am on Wednesday morning.

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The ASU were dispatched to assist local uniform officers from Tipperary town attending the scene, where it is believed a St Stephen’s night party had been taking place.

Members of the ASU entered the house and secured it while they also carried out a search of a nearby shed and secured it. A local GP was called and pronounced the unresponsive man dead at the scene. His body was removed to UHW late on Wednesday night for the postmortem.

Gardaí believe there were a number of people at the party. They have appealed to anyone who was present to contact them at Tipperary Garda station where an incident room has been set up to assist the investigation.

“Any person with any information that can assist gardaí with this investigation are asked to contact Tipperary town Garda station on 062 80670, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station,” the Garda press office said.

Experts from the Garda Technical Bureau carried out a forensic examination of the property on Thursday. It is understood they removed a number of items for further examination.

Gardaí hope that an examination of mobile phone activity in the area at the time may assist them. They have also begun door-to-door inquiries.

The dead man was one of a number of Polish men who were renting the property from a local man and who were working in the construction sector on various jobs in Munster. It is understood he had been living at the house for some time.

There are a number of Polish construction workers living in rented houses in the area but there was nobody at home at one such nearby property where friends of the dead man are said to live when The Irish Times called on Thursday afternoon.

The two-storey house where the deceased lived is located on a tenth of a hectare near the top of a hill overlooking the Glen of Aherlow. It is about two kilometres from Kilross and two kilometres from Galbally village in east Limerick.

Local Galbally Cllr Eddie Ryan (Independent) said that people didn’t yet know the identity of the deceased, but said the news of his death had shocked the local community.

“There is dismay that something like this should happen over Christmas and that it should happen here in our midst because we are a close-knit community here – any death is a tragedy but the tragic circumstances of this one right in our community has really shocked and saddened people.”

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