MURDERED IN DISPUTE OVER FARM
Two brothers nicknamed The Saints are bludgeoned to death in suspected murder-suicide
A SUSPECTED double murder-suicide has claimed the lives of three brothers, in a row over a family farm, it is believed.
Johnny Hennessy, 59, is said to have ‘snapped’ during a heated argument with brothers Paddy, 60, and Willie, 66.
He bludgeoned them to death with an axe at the family farm outside Mitchelstown, north Cork, gardaí believe.
The discovery of the bodies of the two elder brothers prompted a large-scale Garda search for Johnny, and his body was later recovered from the nearby River Funshion, after his van was found parked close to the church where the brothers usually went to Mass.
It is the third tragedy to befall the family. Another brother, Jer, died by suicide in January 2014 and the son of one of the brothers died tragically in May 2012.
Shocked locals said yesterday that the three brothers, known as ‘The Saints’, were close and worked on the land regularly together, with no outward hostility ever shown.
The body of Paddy was found in the farmyard with horrific injuries, and during a followup search, the body of Willie, who also suffered catastrophic injuries, was found in a shed.
Local Superintendent Liam Geraghty described it as a ‘difficult scene’, adding that
counselling had been provided for the gardaí who took part in the investigation at the farm.
Gardaí had called to the isolated farm at Corroghorm, 8km from Mitchelstown, at around midnight on Thursday, where the bodies of Paddy and Willie were found.
The alarm had been raised, when the daughter of Paddy contacted the gardaí to say that her father had been killed.
Johnny and Willie Hennessy were understood to have lived on the Corraghorm farm, while Paddy lived separately in Mitchelstown.
Gardaí initially treated the incident as a potential hostage situation and a major operation began.
Members of the Armed Support Units (ASU) from Cork and Limerick were dispatched to the farmyard, along with a Garda negotiator and on-sight commander. After they discovered the body of the second brother and realised Johnny was not on the property, a search was launched.
Gardaí then issued an appeal to trace a red Toyota Corolla van, warning the public not to approach it under any circumstances.
A number of checkpoints were set up and the air support units were called in to help in the manhunt. More than 50 officers were also deployed.
Just after 10am yesterday, gardaí reported that the van had been found – and just over two hours later the body of Johnny was recovered from the River Funshion by the Garda Water Unit.
It was at this river their fourth brother, Jer, took his life in 2014.
Gardaí baffled over motive for killing
Last night, locals described Johnny and Willie, who lived on the family farm, as ‘living on the margins’, perhaps let down by the system against a background of health issues.
Gardaí said they are still baffled as to the precise motive involved.
It is understood Paddy had suffered a stroke before Christmas and was still recovering.
However, one friend told the Irish Daily Mail that Willie had intended to sell the 15 bullocks he had on the family farm, and another local claimed that that had caused an internal dispute.
Although separated from his wife, Paddy was the only brother to have been married with children. His late son is also said to have died in tragic circumstances in 2012.
Paddy was employed at JD Tyres for many years and, according to his boss, Michael Downey, he was a ‘hard-worker and extremely well liked’.
‘We’re all just so shocked at Paddy’s passing,’ he told the Mail.
‘No one could ever say a bad work about him – he was loved by us all so much.’
Another family friend said that Willie had just received his first old-age pension allowance last week and loved visiting his neighbours.
‘He was always busy doing all sorts, like cutting timber and driving about on his bulldozer.
‘Even though he wasn’t well educated, Willie was fiercely intelligent and was very well read. I remember being astonished by his triva knowledge at a pub quiz one year,’ said the friend.
Johnny was also said to be ‘very well liked’ within his community.
‘There was nothing out of sorts with him at all. Even though the family have experienced tragedies in recent years, he always seemed to be in good form.
‘I don’t know anything about the circumstances of what happened on Thursday night. I’m numb with grief and feel sick to the stomach at what happened.’
Three different scenes had to be preserved last night and are undergoing examination by forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau. They are the farmhouse, the car park where the van was found at St Joseph’s church and a field near the river.
Gardaí confirmed there was no firearm used in the tragedy.
State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster visited the scene shortly after 1pm yesterday and all three bodies have been transported to Cork University Hospital.
Speaking at a press briefing in Mitchelstown, Supt Liam Geraghty said they were not looking for anyone else in relation to the tragedy. ‘Gardaí have commenced a criminal investigation into a set of tragic incidents here in Mitchelstown. We are not looking for anyone else in relation to this matter at this time,’ he said.
‘Gardaí will support the family through this personal tragedy for them,’ he added. ‘We will have to wait for postmortem results to determine the nature of the injuries but at this stage we do not anticipate that any firearm was involved.’
He said members of the public ‘may have some information about what may have been happening in relation to interactions between people involved’ and said that any information should be passed on to the gardaí.
The superintendent added that he was not aware of any letter or any other communication being
Not aware of any letter being left
left by any of the dead men.
Mitchelstown Fianna Fáil Councillor Frank O’Flynn said that the farm was ‘exceptionally small’ and that the tragic deaths are not believed to have been a dispute about land.
He said that the family were extremely quiet.
‘They would come into the mart in Mitchelstown on a Thursday, it would be even hard to know who was who, they were so quiet. They had no interest in fashion or drinking or putting money on horses. They had very simple pleasures,’ he said. He last saw one of the brothers walking on the street in Mitchelstown at Christmas, he added.
Their farm offers a view onto the Galtee Mountains and is close to the Limerick border.
It is also close to a prominent monument to Fenian, Peter O’Neill Crowley, in Kilclooney wood, half way between Mitchelstown and Kildorrery.
The area is mixed between dairy and beef farming – with some prominent pig farms. Cllr O’Flynn said that he also knew Paddy from his work at a tyre shop in Mitchelstown that closed down about 20 years ago. ‘He was the type of man who would say “yes” and “no” to your questions. A very deep, nice man,’ the councillor said.
A source who knows the family said he didn’t believe the parents had left a will, which may have caused some tensions.
‘They were the kind of family in which everyone is very close and the mother and father do everything for them. Then, when the parents die, they are lost,’ he said.
He said that they ‘all wore dark clothes and lived humble lives.
‘They were known as The Saints locally because they were so unassuming. Their mother died in the last few years which may have added to problems because some of them might not be able to adjust. The land there isn’t that good and it’s a very small farm. They had a few cows but income from it was minimal,’ he said.
He said it is believed that a female family member discovered the bodies late on Thursday night and raised the alarm. On Friday, before 1pm, a car was later discovered close to St Joseph’s Church in Killacluig, not far from Mitchelstown, and a Garda helicopter spotted the body in the Funshion river.
‘A family in which everyone was close’