A MAN was being questioned by gardai in Kilkenny last night following the discovery of the body of a middleaged man who had been battered to death in the grounds of a religious retreat house in the city.
The man being held was arrested in Dublin at about 7.30p.m. and brought to Kilkenny, where he was being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
The victim, Mr Michael O'Sullivan (45), a native of Co Kerry, had no fixed address in Kilkenny but had lived in the area for many years.
His body was found inside the walls of St Joseph's Convent, a former orphanage now occupied by the Mill Hill Fathers, early yesterday morning. He had suffered very severe facial and head injuries. Gardai said that a blood stained stake, over two inches square and 5 1/2 feet long, was found nearby.
Supt Vincent Duffe said Mr O'Sullivan appeared to have been the victim of "a very savage attack", and the incident was being treated as murder at this stage.
Gardai began carrying out door to door inquiries in Kilkenny, where Mr O'Sullivan had been seen drinking at various locations during Wednesday evening.
He was last seen alive in the vicinity of St Joseph's at around 11 p.m. The grounds, surrounded by an eight foot wall, contain premises used by a number of community and social service organisations. It is understood the gates were locked at around 12.30 a.m. by people leaving a function in one of those buildings.
Garda forensic experts and the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, examined the body yesterday afternoon where it lay, on the neatly mown lawn in front of St Joseph's. It was first noticed by a priest of the community at around 7a.m. yesterday.
The body was later removed to St Luke's General Hospital for a post mortem examination.
There were unconfirmed reports that Mr O'Sullivan might have been carrying a sum of money on Wednesday, after collecting arrears of social welfare payments. He had been discharged from a local hospital a few days ago.
Gardai yesterday contacted relatives, including his wife and 15 year old son, who live in the Kilkenny area, and his mother, living in Kerry.