'I will miss him, I always will,' says neighbour of man found dead in Macroom

A neighbour of the man whose body was found in a house in Macroom town centre on Tuesday has spoken of the discovery and his friendship with the deceased.

Tim Horgan was speaking to The Echo the day after the body of Michael Foley, 61, was discovered at the premises of Annville in Barrett's Place in Macroom town centre. The remains of Mr Foley have since been removed to Cork University Hospital where Assistant State Pathologist Dr. Margaret Bolster is due to carry out a post mortem examination on Wednesday.

Tim Horgan, who lives a few doors down from the home of the deceased, described him as ‘quiet’ and ‘a man who enjoyed life’. “He used to go out for a few drinks and his grub,” he said. “He was always in good form and he would put you in good form, I used to enjoy him, poor devil.

“I will miss him, I always will.” 

Mr Horgan said he had gone to check him on Tuesday as he hadn’t seen his neighbour for three or four days. “Sometimes he’d come into me for a cup of coffee or I’d go to him for half an hour, we were good friends.

“I knocked at the window, I knocked at the door, the curtains were closed – it was very odd how the curtains were closed because he’d never close the curtains, morning, noon or night.

“So I met the key worker going down and said ‘you’re wasting your time, I was just there, I don’t think he’s there, he could be gone to town’. 

“She said she’d try again so she knocked at the door, the handle opened and she went in and found him inside.” 

Garda technical and forensic officers were at the cordoned off scene in Annville on Wednesday morning.

An incident room has been set up in Macroom Garda Station as the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discovery awaits a report of the postmortem examination.

In a press statement on Tuesday, a Garda spokesperson said the report from that examination would determine the course of the investigation.