Man (50s) arrested in connection with murder of Michael Gaine

Ellen O'Donoghue

A man in his 50s has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the murder of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine.

The man was arrested on Tuesday morning and is currently detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a garda station in Kerry.

Gaine was reported missing from his home in Kenmare on Friday, March 21st, 2025 and a major search operation was conducted at his farm, around 5km from Kenmare town.

Gaine’s car was found in the farmyard of the isolated holding, and his phone and wallet were found in the vehicle.

Despite extensive searches of the 1,000-acre holding by gardaí assisted by members of the Defence Forces, no trace was found of the missing farmer.

On the afternoon of May 16th 2025, a relative of Gaine was spreading slurry on the farm at Carhoo East when he noticed a blockage in the slurry spreader.

When he went to free the blockage, he noticed what appeared to be body parts and alerted gardaí. They cordoned off the area and requested the services of the State Pathologist.

The following day, the State Pathologist and Forensic Anthropologist carried out a preliminary examination of the scene.

A search of a slurry tank on the farm by members of the Garda Water Unit found further human remains, which were later confirmed as those of Gaine.

Gardaí believe that Gaine’s killer had dismembered his body using a saw and disposed of the body parts in the slurry tank.

Investigations involving the Serious Crime Unit in Kerry and the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are ongoing, gardaí said.