Bodies of elderly couple removed from Mayo home where they died violently

The bodies of Tom and Kitty Fitzgerald have been removed from their Co Mayo house where the elderly couple were found dead yesterday afternoon.

The bodies of both showed signs of extensive injuries.

It is understood the postmortem on the bodies, which have been taken to Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar, will not take place until Thursday due to the heavy workload faced by the State pathologist this week.

The couple’s son, Paul, was injured in the same incident and is recovering from head injuries in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

Experts from the Garda Technical Bureau have spent much of Wednesday examining the couple's bungalow near Irishtown, Co Mayo.

Gardaí say they are keeping an "open mind" on the deaths of Mr Fitzgerald, a community activist, and his wife Kitty.

Local parish priest Fr Martin O’Connor led a short prayer service at the house this afternoon where relatives, friends and a number of neighbours had gathered.

Fr O’Connor said many worshippers were in tears at evening Mass on Tuesday when news emerged of the sudden deaths of the popular couple.

Fr O’Connor described Tom and Kitty as “saint-like”, stating they had been involved in church and community affairs, with Tom frequently acting as a minister of the Eucharist at Masses in the local Church of the Holy Family.

Mr Fitzgerald was also a well-known painter and decorator.