GARDAÍ IN Co Kerry were last night poised to launch a double murder investigation after post-mortem examinations revealed that a father and son found dead in their house in North Kerry had been shot a number of times.
The bodies of Michael Hanrahan (54) and his son, Denis (27), were found at about 9am yesterday morning by a workmate of Denis's in a bedroom of their bungalow at the end of a cul-de-sac about a mile from Moyvane village near Listowel in north Kerry.
Initial speculation suggested that possibly one man had shot the other and then turned a gun on himself, but the tragedy took a more sinister twist after the bodies of both men were removed for a postmortem examination and gardaí were unable to find a gun.
It is understood that Denis Hanrahan had suffered massive gunshot wounds to his thigh while Michael Hanrahan had suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, leading gardaí initially to believe that a gun might be concealed beneath his body where he fell.
However when the bodies were removed, gardaí could find no firearm in the immediate vicinity and a search of the family home by members of the Garda Technical Bureau failed to uncover a legally held shotgun which was licensed to Michael Hanrahan.
Gardaí could find no trail of blood to suggest that either man had moved from where their bodies were discovered and it is understood that officers found about eight cartridges on the floor, suggesting that a gun may have been fired a number of times.
Garda fears that they may be dealing with a double murder further increased last night when a postmortem examination by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margeret Bolster found that both men had been shot more than once suggesting the involvement of a third party.
Gardaí also noted that the lights were on in the house leading them to believe that both men were shot possibly late on Wednesday night but they were hoping that the post-mortem by Dr Bolster would establish a more exact time of death.
Gardaí were remaining tight-lipped last night about the nature of the investigation but the Garda Press Office issued a statement shortly before 7pm saying that gardaí had completed their preliminary examination of the scene.
"It remains unclear at this early stage what the sequence of events were which led to these deaths occurring. Postmortem examinations are being conducted at the moment and are unlikely to be completed tonight," said the Garda Press Office.
"However, it is expected that these examinations will conclude that both men died from gunshot wounds.
"A firearm, licensed to the property, has yet to be located," said the Garda Press Office statement, adding that a press briefing will take place later today.
"In the meantime, investigating gardaí are asking that anybody who was in the vicinity of the premises at Moyvane over the last 24 hours would contact them at Listowel Garda station on 068 50820," said the statement.
A dairy farmer, Michael Hanrahan wrote the local Moyvane notes for both the Kerryman and the Limerick Leader newspapers and lived at the hilltop home with his son, Denis, who worked as a plasterer.
Mr Hanrahan's wife, Anne, a nurse died from breast cancer some 12 years ago and the couple's other children, Shane - Denis's twin brother - and three daughters were last night being comforted by relatives and friends.
Local Moyvane parish priest Fr John Lucid said that he administered the last rites at the house but didn't wish to comment further until all the family had been notified other than to say "our prayers are with the family".
Retired teacher and poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice said that he had taught all the Hanrahan children and he described Denis and his twin Shane as "lovely outgoing happy go-lucky fellows who did their bit at school and got on with their lives."
Moyvane was "a quiet backwater area" and the last place one would expect something like this to happen, said Mr Fitzmaurice.