Many tributes to Mitchelstown’s Hennessy brothers
Tributes to three Mitchelstown brothers who died following a double-murder suicide last week have poured in from a community struggling to come to terms with the violent tragedy.
Willie, Paddy and Johnny Hennessy, who farmed and ran a firewood business in Curraghgorm on the outskirts of Mitchelstown, were quiet, hard-working men, according to all who knew them.
The shocking series of events that took all three brothers’ lives unfolded last Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Elder brothers Willie (68) and Paddy (60) were found dead on the family farm late last Thursday evening, following a phonecall to gardaí in Mitchelstown by Elaine Hennessy, Paddy’s daughter and her mother.
A search ensued for youngest brother Johnny’s vehicle on Friday morning, and a public warning was issued not to approach his red Toyota Corolla van if found, as gardai were unsure if a firearm was involved. The vehicle was subsequently discovered parked close to Killacluig church.
Johnny Hennessy’s body was recovered from the River Funcheon nearby. It is thought that Johnny, who lived at the family farm, while his brothers lived in Stag Park and Linden Hill, Mitchelstown, killed Willie and Paddy because of some dispute relating to the farm, before taking his own life.
While gardaí initially believed a firearm was used during the incident, it is since believed an axe located at the scene was the only weapon involved.
It is understood that a complaint has been lodged with the office of the Garda Ombudsman, GSOC, amidst concerns that one of the brothers had been in contact with local gardai in the hours before Thursday night’s violence.
“An Garda Síochána can confirm that GSOC are carrying out preliminary enquiries into the possible interaction that may have occurred prior to the incident of Thursday night 25th February, 2021,” a Garda press spokesperson confirmed to TheAvondhu in a statement.
‘SAD DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THIS TRAGEDY’
The Hennessy brothers were very united, according to Paddy Ryan who was secretary with Ballygiblin GAA in the late 1970s and ‘ 80s, when the brothers, nicknamed ‘The Saints’, were active with the club.
“They were always quiet, innocent fellas,” Paddy said. “They were harmless people, they weren’t drinkers or anything like that.”
Mr Ryan recalled the Hennessys in their days of playing for Ballygiblin GAA: Willie Hennessy had been a sub on the Ballygiblin team that won the North Cork Junior B championship in 1979. “Paddy came on the scene in the 1980s, and Jer played too, but Johnny was not so involved,” he said.
A fourth Hennessy brother Jer, had died in tragic circumstances in 2014.
As players, Paddy said the Hennessys were ‘reliable stalwarts’. Midweek games played away in Araglin, Ballysaggart, Kilbehenny and other areas, were difficult for players to attend, “but the four Hennessys could be the difference between having a team or not.”
Mr Ryan said he had seen all three Hennessys in recent weeks. “I met Paddy a month ago and he told me he was recovering from a stroke. I would have met Willie a couple of weeks ago, and I saw Johnny just the Monday before what happened.”
As with so many others who have been mystified by the shocking incident, Mr Ryan said all brothers were behaving normally and were not exhibiting any unusual behaviour.
“Sad doesn’t even begin to describe this tragedy and how the people of Mitchelstown feel about it,” he said.
‘SALT OF THE EARTH’
Seamus Fox, a coach with Fanahan McSweeney Athletic Club, said the Hennessy brothers were avid sports supporters who became involved with the athletics club when Paddy’s daughter Elaine, was a member.
“Paddy helped out with training and his two brothers would have travelled to attend events,” Mr Fox said. “Paddy was a quiet individual, but he was always there for moral support.”
HANDBALL
Alongside their other sporting interests, all three brothers were avid handball players in their day, at first members of Mitchelstown Handball Club before it closed and with Fermoy Handball Club up until about 2006.
They also frequented Galbally Handball Club, playing there every Sunday night up until the onset of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Michael Jordan, who was chairman of Fermoy Handball Club in the years when the Hennessy brothers played there, said he had known Paddy best of the three brothers and echoed other comments as to their quiet and unassuming nature.
“It’s a shock to everyone in the handball circuit,” Mr Jordan said. “They were a nice family. The poor lads, it’s a sad thing and you couldn’t have met nicer than them.”
SHOCKED AND DEVASTATED
Sympathy has been expressed by local councillors, including Cllr Frank Roche, who said the community was ‘shocked and devastated’ by the events.
“They were country people that had never been in any kind of trouble,” Cllr Roche said. “They’d be the kind of people who would have time to stop for a chat, or who would carry in the firewood if they were delivering to an elderly person living alone: the salt of the earth, you could say.”
Cllr Roche said rural North Cork had suffered several violent incidents in recent months, including a murder-suicide in Kanturk last October and the discovery of the body of a 72-year-old mother of three in a burning car in Doneraile in early February.
“What’s frightening about the violence is that none of these incidents have involved people who were known to be experiencing trouble or were involved in drugs or anything of that nature,” he said.
Cllr Roche said he has been campaigning for better mental health resources for isolated rural areas since his election, but that in the meantime, Mitchelstown is left not only with a sense of shock, but questions about how and why these incidents occurred and what can be done to protect rural communities into the future.
Cllr Frank O’Flynn extended his sympathies to the family and to the broader community who he said, were ‘absolutely shocked’ by news of the deaths. “They were a close-knit family, in the small farming community,” he said. “My thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
Johnny, the youngest of the brothers, was laid to rest in Brigown New Cemetery on Wednesday in a private funeral service and it understood that his brothers Willie and Paddy will be buried in the next few days.
The three are survived by their sister Breda (O’Reilly, Anglesboro), nieces Elaine and Lisa, grandnephews Jack, Danny, Logan and Caleb, grandniece Halle, brother-in-law Ned, relatives, neighbours and many friends, to whom we extend our sincere sympathy.
There has been a huge outpouring of grief for the Hennessy brothers and their family following the tragic events of Thursday and Friday.
Willie lived alone in a house at Stag Park and Paddy lived with his daughter Elaine at her home at Linden Hill while Johnny, the younger of the three, lived at the home place in Curraghgorm.
The three men were known to be very united and shared a great interest in handball and GAA.
It is understood that late on Thursday, Paddy’s daughter, Elaine and her mother, called to the family farm, concerned when Paddy had not returned home, only to find his body in the yard. The gardai were contacted and having arrived and secured the scene, they later located Willie’s body in a shed.
A massive Garda operation was set in train and fearing a firearm might be involved, the Armed Response Unit was called in, backed up by dog units and the Air Support Unit. The activity of the helicopter in the area was the first sign for many of the neighbours, that something serious was unfolding.
Johnny’s red Toyota Corolla van was found near Killacluig church later in the morning and the ongoing search for Johnny resulted in his body being recovered from the nearby Funcheon river shortly after noon on Friday.
‘OUR OWN PEOPLE’
Neighbours shared the horrific news, almost in disbelief that such a thing could happen to these kind, gentle people.
Speaking of how well known and regarded in the community they were, local councillor Kay Dawson said it was such a shock ‘ and the worst news that could have broken in Mitchelstown’.
“My heart goes out to their family because these are our own people,” she said.
Their other brother Jerry, who worked in Cork Marts, had also died tragically at the age of 57. All four brothers were well known in the community, playing handball in Mitchelstown and in the neighbouring villages. They also played hurling with the Ballygiblin club in the 1970s and ‘80s and were part of a team that won a North Cork championship in 1979.
Former TD for the area Ned O’Keeffe, spoke of his great sadness at what had happened. “I knew them all from calling to their home a couple of times a year to help them access various services when I was serving in the Dáil. They would never come into my clinic but I used to call out to them off and on. I was so sorry to hear of their passing.”
Ballygiblin GAA wrote on social media: “The club is shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic passing of the Hennessy brothers, our sincere condolences to both friends and family alike.”
Post-mortem examinations were conducted on the men at Cork University Hospital by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster. The results have not been released for operational reasons.