Man and woman arrested over murder of man (61) in Co Cork

Gardaí investigating the murder of a 61-year old-man at his home in Macroom, Co Cork have arrested a man and woman.

Detectives under Det Supt Joe Moore detained the pair, both in their 30s, at an address in Cork city for questioning about the murder of Michael Foley earlier this month.

They were taken to Bandon Garda station where they were being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows gardaí to detain suspects for up to 24 hours.

Detectives believe Mr Foley may have been dead for several days at his chalet flat at the Annville Sheltered Housing complex in Macroom before he was found at around 1pm on February 6th.

Brianna Parkins: Here’s some of the best life advice I’ve ever received

---

Bryan Dobson: ‘Retirement could be a terrible shock to the system – or not, who knows!’

---

The Croke Park effect: ‘It was one of the very few times I cried during the opposition anthem’

---

I spent my maternity leave in a chemo chair. Then I got a letter telling me to go back to work

---

Mr Foley, who lived alone, was found with severe head injuries and stab wounds on his kitchen floor by a care worker who called to check on him after he had not been seen for several days.

It is understood that a postmortem examination by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster confirmed that Mr Foley was dead for at least a number of days before he was found.

Mr Foley’s younger brother, Timmy (44) was stabbed to death at his home in nearby Barrett’s Place in Macroom, five years ago. His ex-wife, Rita O’Driscoll, was later convicted and jailed for life for his murder following a trial at the Central Criminal Court which heard the deceased had been stabbed 28 times.

Michael Foley, who was originally from Scartagh in Clonakilty was buried on Monday in St Mary’s Cemetery in Clonakilty following requiem mass at the local Church of the Immaculate Conception.

• Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
• Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here