Inquests into Kanturk murder suicide tragedy to take place next month

THE inquests of a father and his two sons who died in a suspected murder suicide in Kanturk will be opened next month in Mallow.

The inquests into the deaths of of 59-year-old father Tadgh O’Sullivan, his 22-year-old son Diarmuid and his 25-year-old son Mark will take place on July 7.

The inquests follow the recent death of the only other member of the family, Ann, who died earlier this year. She had been spared death by her husband and youngest son, Diarmuid.

Gardai believe Mark was shot in his bedroom by his father and younger brother in their home in Kanturk on Monday morning, October 26.

The indications are that Tadgh and Diarmuid shot themselves a short time later in a nearby field, near a ringfort.

Gardai found correspondence from one of the men which helped gardaí to establish the sequence of events at the farm at Assolas from 6.30am on October 26. The incident is understood to be linked to an inheritance dispute which had been simmering in the weeks before the shootings.

Gardai interviewed the only witness, Ann O’Sullivan, who fled the house in a bid to raise the alarm. She was recovering from recent surgery at the time of the shootings and died in April.

She managed to flee the house and raised the alarm when she arrived at a neighbour's house about a gun incident in her home.

The fatalities occurred just days before Diarmuid was due to graduate from Cork Institute of Technology with a first class honours degree in accounting. Mark was a graduate of UCC and was a trainee solicitor.

Two separate funerals took place for the men. Diarmuid was laid to rest in Castlemagner with his father while Mark’s funeral took place in Kanturk.