The body of Co Leitrim man Liam Farrell is to be exhumed as part of a Garda review into the circumstances surrounding his death more than six years ago.
A further postmortem is to be carried out on the remains of the 87-year-old, who was found dead outside the back door of his home in Rooskey on January 13th, 2020.
His body was bruised and bloodied and the area was designated as a crime scene. The Farrell family believe he was subjected to an assault before suffering a heart attack.
Farrell’s injuries were not inconsistent with either those suffered by falling during a heart attack or the involvement of a third party, his inquest heard. An open verdict was recorded at the hearing.
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A postmortem carried out at the time concluded that Farrell died of a heart attack. A file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions by gardaí but no legal proceedings followed.
His inquest, held in late 2024, was told the pathologist carrying out the postmortem was not informed that Farrell had died in suspicious circumstances. They would have referred the case to a forensic pathologist had they been made aware.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly referred the case for a review late last year and the exhumation will take place as part of this.
A Garda spokesman said the review into Farrell’s death is “active and ongoing” with the Serious Crime Review Team taking the lead.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan approved a formal request from An Garda Síochána, in conjunction with the relevant coroner, for the exhumation of Farrell’s remains, the Department of Justice said. The development was first reported by RTÉ Prime Time.
A Garda spokesman said on Friday: “The Garda Commissioner has tasked the Serious Crime Review Team with carrying out a review of the investigation into the death of Mr Liam Farrell.
“Initial actions have involved engagement by the SCRT with Liam Farrell’s family and the Garda investigation team. This review is active and ongoing.”
The news was welcomed by the Farrell family.
“We have campaigned for quite a while for an exhumation in our father’s case,” Farrell’s son Willie told Shannonside FM.
“Whilst that is not easy for any family to ask for, we hopefully might gain some insight into what happened to our father that night and we are very happy to see that it is moving forward now.”
He thanked O’Callaghan, Kelly and the Garda Serious Crime Review Team.
“We believe [the exhumation] should be helpful to us,” he said.
