Two men arrested in Kerins murder case

Two men were arrested by gardaí this morning in connection with the murder of former detective John Kerins at his Cavan home last November.

The ex-garda in his late 40s had been shot twice, at least once in the head, as he sat watching television at the isolated house in the townland of Cornaveagh, near Bailieborough. There were no signs of a struggle or a break-in at his home.

A Garda spokesman said two suspects were arrested under special anti-gangland legisl ation. “Both men are detained at Carrickmacross Garda Station under Section 50 — Criminal Justice Act 2007,” he said. “A number of searches are also taking place in the Bailieborough area in connection with this on-going investigation.”

Mr Ke rins had served in a number of specialist units in the force during his career, including the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation but had been medically discharged several years before his death.

After his death, gardaí began to build up a complex picture of his last months in a bid to establish a motive for the shooting.

Several possible motives for the murder emerged at the time. There were concerns that a criminal known to Mr Kerins feared that he was on the brink of a breakdown and was about to implicate him in the case of his missing neighbour, Gerard Daly (44), a dog breeder originally from Tallaght, Dublin, who disappeared almost two years ago and is feared murdered.

There was also intelligence to suggest Mr Kerins was linked with a number of forms of criminality, including drug dealing.At the time of his death, Mr Kearns was fac ing two charges of handling stolen property in Co Cork.

The father of one separated from his wife and was living alone at the house which is 7km from Bailieborough off the main road to Cootehill.

Additional reporting PA