‘Disbelief’ in north Co Clare following suspicious deaths of married couple

Gardaí are continuing to investigate the suspicious deaths of a married couple at their home in north Co Clare which a local politician said had left a sense of “disbelief” in the community.

The couple have been named as Joe Collins and Claire Collins, who were in their 50s and recently became grandparents. Mr Collins was found dead outside their house in at Kilnaboy, while Ms Collins was discovered in a bedroom when gardaí arrived at the scene on Thursday afternoon.

Postmortems have been carried out on the deceased by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster. Gardaí on Friday night said they were continuing to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the deaths and that the results of the postmortems were not being released “for operational reasons”.

“Gardaí are not looking for any other individual in relation to this incident at this time,” a Garda spokesman said in a statement. “The scene remains preserved and technical examinations are ongoing...the primary focus for Gardaí at this time is the preparation of a file for the coroner”.

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Supt John Ryan of Ennis Garda station earlier said the force did not know the circumstances of the deaths “other than they are suspicious”.

Ms Collins was the manager of the Burren Centre in nearby Kilfenora while Mr Collins worked at a busy butcher’s retail outlet in Ennis.

Lisdoonvarna-based Fine Gael councillor Joe Garrihy said there was “a numbness and and a disbelief” in north Co Clare as news of the deaths spread. He said he knew Ms Collins through her work and she was “a fantastic lady”. He said “this is just an awful tragedy for her family and for everyone involved”.

“She was a very professional and a very capable person and always built a good relationship with everyone around her.”

Mr Collins was a very keen cyclist and a member of the Ennis-based Dolmen Cycling Club. In a statement on its Facebook page, the club offered its sympathies to the couple’s family and friends.

“It is hard to imagine our spins without Joe. May they rest in peace,” it said.

Gardaí appealed to anyone with information about the matter to contact Ennis Garda station on 065 684 8100 the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.