‘They just can’t believe their brother could die like this’

THE devastated family of Anthony O’Mahony are struggling to make sense of how their loved one came to die in such gruesome circumstances, Ballyduff Parish Priest Fr Brendan Walsh told The Kerryman.

The ordinary calm of their lives was shattered forever early on Tuesday as they learned of the incident that left bachelor farmer Anthony O’Mahony (74) dead and the close-knit community of Ballyduff in a state of abject shock.

“His family just can’t believe it, waking in the morning to hear this, that someone they love could die in such circumstances,” Fr Walsh said.

They were being held firmly in the thoughts and prayers of all locally as the garda investigation into the death was getting underway on Tuesday.

Mr O’Mahony, who had never married, had two siblings – brother Seamus and sister Angela – and a number of nieces and nephews.

Seamus O’Mahony, who runs a cement company in Causeway, sister Angela and their families are highly regarded in the parish.

Both siblings were extremely close to their brother. Seamus worked closely with him in the farm business, which was described by friends as one of the finest tillage operations in the region and Angela visited him regularly, providing him with meals.

Fr Walsh, who knew Mr O’Mahony well, said the entire community was ‘shattered’.

“It is absolutely horrible and we’re just shattered as you can imagine we would be in such a tight-knit community like Ballyduff. Everyone is just shattered,” Fr Walsh said.

Outside of family and farming, the Church was one of the great forces in Mr O’Mahony’s life.

“He was just a very gentle person who was loved by everyone in the parish.

“He was a hard-working man and he was also a man of great faith who attended church regularly and whom I knew well from the church. We’re simply devastated by the incident.”

Fr Walsh’s counsel was being sought by many in the parish as the community struggled to make sense of what happened.

“You really get the feeling talking to people that they are all absolutely shattered by what has happened here,” he said.

There were no funeral arrangements for the respose and burial of Mr O’Mahony’s remains by the time of going to press.