Man (44) arrested over fatal Cork shooting

Gardaí in Cork have arrested a man (44) on Wednesday in relation to the fatal shooting of a man in his home in Ballyphehane on the city's southside last month.

Detectives arrested the man at the Youghal area around 8am and brought him to Togher Garda Station for questioning about the death of Diarmuid Byrne (41).

Mr Byrne died instantly after he suffered a gunshot wound to the head while with a friend in an upstairs room of his house at Plunkett Road in Ballyphehane in Cork on April 26th.

The friend rang the emergency services, but Mr Byrne, a single man who lived alone, was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor.

The friend, who was deeply traumatised, told gardaí he had discharged Mr Byrne’s legally held shotgun without realising the weapon was loaded and had accidentally shot his friend.

Mr Byrne's body was examined at the scene by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster before it was removed to the morgue at Cork University Hospital for a postmortem.

Garda suspicions about the death led to an investigation and today’s arrest, which follows ballistics tests in Dublin on Mr Byrne’s shotgun.

The arrest was made under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act that allows gardaí detain suspects for up to 24 hours before they have to be charged or released.