The mother alerted the neighbors who called the police after hearing the first shot. She had recently undergone serious surgery.
Trigger Warning: Some details may be distressing
A 60-year-old mum is now left widowed and without her sons, after a tragic incident on her Irish farm. The bodies of Anne's husband, Tadhg O’Sullivan (59), and his two sons, Mark (26) and Diarmuid (23) were found on the farm at North Cork.
According to Gardaí, the Irish state police investigating the crime, the shootings could have been related to a family dispute. It is suspected to have occurred over a will on the shares of the family farm at Castlemagner near Kanturk, that some of the family would've found unfair, reported The Irish Times.
Pathologists and Ballistic experts were called on the scene to examine the body and find out if both the rifles were used to fire. The Gardaí had then said that they would wait for the post-mortem to be conducted before they conclude anything. While Mark's body was found in a pool of blood in the upstairs bedroom, Tadhg and the younger son, Diarmuid's body was found in the field half a kilometer away from the house.
As suspected, the post-mortem revealed that Mark had at least seven fatal injuries on his body other than the gunshot, reported The Sun. The gunshot wounds of the father and the younger brother were self-inflicted. The publication revealed that Ann was the one who notified the neighbors on hearing the first gunshot, who then called the police.
A father and two sons have died following a shooting incident at a farm outside Kanturk in Co Cork | More: https://t.co/H3qLmjehiO pic.twitter.com/wJDVInP0On
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 26, 2020
Mark had left her a note inside his mother's medical bag in which he had anticipated the tragic end of his family. “It is possible he might have overheard them talking about what they would do because they were so upset over the farm being left to him," said a source. His mother, Anne who had just undergone serious surgery was very close to Mark.
The source continued, “But it is also possible because of his legal training he may have written down the plans with a view to having them on record should there be future legal action over a will and inheritance.” Mark was a graduate in Law from University College Cork.
It is not clear if the mother had found the note before the property was searched or not but the state police are investigating the possibility of the father and son having planned the murder-suicide together. They too had notes in their pockets that described why they were going to do the crime and what was to be done after their deaths.
Latest: Post mortems completed on two of the three killed in horror shooting on Kanturk family farm https://t.co/nnkuKFLDWU
— EchoLive.ie (@echolivecork) October 27, 2020
If the publication is to be believed, Mark is the one who was with Anne throughout her medical procedure and so when she recovered, she decided to leave the 150-acre land to Mark and that decision didn't sit well with the other son, Diarmuid. The land had been leased to a local farm till now for which Anne had received a handsome amount of €30,000 ($35108.25). The property dispute had split the family into two where Mark and Anne were on one side that upset the two.
"It's a tragedy for the family. Our thoughts, sympathies, and prayers go out to them at this very difficult time," said Fianna Fail councilor Pat Hayes. As per The Daily Mail, he continued, "It has come as a real shock to the community. We're a very close-knit community here and to be honest with you, everyone is just numb."
Fine Gael councilor John Paul O'Shea said, "Everyone is deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy. My thoughts go out to the family and the wider community of Castlemagner and Kanturk as they come to terms with this unimaginable loss."
He further added, "There is a strong and determined community spirit in Castlemagner, and the community there I know will rally around their families, neighbors, and friends in the coming days as they deal with this tragic loss."
Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) Head of Student Affairs Dr. Dan Collins said that he was at a lack of words to "express how people are feeling." Diarmuid was a recent graduate of the institution, according to Independent. ie. He added, "This tragedy is heart-breaking, and we extend our thoughts and sympathy to his mother, Ann."
Describing the scene of the crime, a police officer said that it was the "worst I have had to deal with in over 20 years".
References:
