Two men were being questioned by gardaí in Castlebar, Co Mayo, last night after the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old man at an isolated farmhouse yesterday afternoon, writes Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent.
It is believed the dead man may have been involved in an altercation at the farmhouse at Funshona, near the village of Cross, Co Mayo.
He was named locally as Mr John Ward (43) of Carrowbrowne, Co Galway. He was a member of the Travelling community.
His body was found in a field across the road from the farmhouse and he was pronounced dead at 2.55 p.m.
The single-storey farmhouse where the shooting occurred is in an area of farmland between the villages of Cross and Glencorrib on the north-eastern shores of Lough Corrib.
It is understood that two men had approached the house before the shooting.
One had gone around the back while the other was at the front door.
A shotgun was recovered from the scene.
An 18-year-old man was arrested by the Garda under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. However, late last night he was released without charge.
Yesterday afternoon, a man in his late 50s was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows for detention for a total period of 72 hours.
The owner of the premises is a full-time farmer, Mr Padraig Nally.
Garda Chief Supt John Carey, of Castlebar, said a full-scale investigation had been initiated into the circumstances surrounding the shooting under Supt Padraig O'Toole of Claremorris gardaí.
He said a firearm had been discharged and one man had been fatally injured.
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, was due to carry out a post-mortem last night or early today on the body of the dead man.
Gardaí from Claremorris, Co Mayo, sealed off the area for technical examination last night.
There was shock in the local community yesterday as news of the shooting spread.
Relatives of the dead man travelled to the area. Mr Patrick Ward, the dead man's brother, spoke briefly to reporters.
It was a "terrible thing", Mr Ward said before turning away, visibly upset.
Mr Michael Biggins, chairman of the Mayo branch of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and a neighbour of Mr Nally, expressed sympathy for the family of the dead man.