Pensioner arrested over death of man after alleged assault

RESIDENTS of a rural Connemara village were in shock last night after a pensioner was arrested following the death ofamaninhis60s.

Gardaí in Salthill, Co Galway, are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death following an incident at a house in Ballinahown, Inverin, Connemara.

Shortly after 9am yesterday, gardaí were called to the house where paramedics were treating the man following an alleged assault.

A local man said: “All night I’ve seen ambulances and guards passing by.

“They are new to the area, they’re only after restoring the house during the summer. “They’ve only moved in here.” Most residents living nearby did not wish to speak about the death, but one local woman said the entire village was “in shock”.

“We’re a quiet place, we keep ourselves to ourselves.

“This isn’t something we expect to think about here,” she added. “I don’t know who those people are but God bless the poor man who died.”

The man was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Galway where he later died.

Examination

Gardaí said a man aged in his 70s was later arrested and was last night being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Galway garda station.

The scene was preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau and the local coroner was notified.

The State Pathologist was requested to attend the scene and a post-mortem examination was due to take place.

Gardaí said the results of the post-mortem will determine the course of their investigation.