Man in his 50s arrested after murder of Brigid Maguire

A woman whose body was found in her home in Mullingar, Co Westmeath on Saturday evening has been named as Brigid Maguire.

Ms Maguire (43), a mother-of-two, had just moved into the house on Main Street, Ballynacargy.

A man in his 50s was arrested in Mullingar and is currently detained at Mullingar Garda station under Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act 1984.

The postmortem has been completed and the results passed on to the investigation team. Gardaí are now conducting a murder investigation.

The woman's body, which is understood to have been discovered by a family member, was removed to the Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar.

State Pathologist Marie Cassidy was notified, and the postmortem took place at the hospital.

The scene at the house has been preserved by forensic experts. Gardaí said it would remain preserved pending the result of the postmortem and no announcements would be made until then.

Local TD Willie Penrose said the whole village was in "total shock" at the news of the woman's death.

He said she was “a very hard worker” who came from a well respected family in Ballynacargy.

“You don’t expect a tragedy of such awful proportions in a small rural community like this. It is a tragedy for the whole village.”

Mr Penrose said the woman’s family were “local people” who were well regarded.

He said the village had heard the news of the death late on Saturday, with many people in shock.

Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy also said the community was "rocked" by the death.

Mr Troy said the woman was "an exemplary mother and a hard worker".

An incident room has been established at Mullingar Garda Station. Gardaí would like to appeal to any members of the public who may have seen anything unusual or suspicious in or around the Ballynacargy area between 5pm and 10pm on the 14th of November to contact Mullingar Garda station on 044-9384000.