Young brothers found dead in north Cork house

Gardaí in north Cork are investigating the deaths of two young brothers in a house in Charleville this afternoon.

The bodies of the two boys - twins aged nine - were discovered by one of their siblings at around 5.10pm when he arrived home to the property in the Deerpark area. The boys were pronounced dead at the scene.

He notified a neighbour who raised the alarm and gardaí contacted the children’s parents who were in Kilmallock at the time.

The body of a relative of the boys, who was in his early 20s, was found in Buttevant, some 15km away, this evening. The scene has been sealed off also. Foul play is not suspected in his death.

The bodies of the boys, who it is understood were stabbed, remain at the scene. The State Pathologist’s Office has been notified and postmortems are expected to be carried out tomorrow.

The area has been cordoned off and a technical examination is to be carried out by Garda forensic experts. Diversions are in place near the house, a Garda spokesman said.

A number of emergency services vehicles, including ambulances, remained at the scene in Charleville several hours after the discovery. A large crowd of people gathered on the road outside the property and a long line of cars were parked nearby. Gardaí manned two checkpoints on the northern and southern sides of the main road about two miles from the house.

Gardaí in Charleville are investigating the matter and have appealed to anyone with information to contact them on (022) 31450, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.