GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the suspicious death of a 92-year-old bachelor in Co Limerick were continuing house-to-house inquiries yesterday.
The body of James Mulqueen from Kilcolman, Ardagh, Co Limerick, was found in his two-bedroom cottage at about 11am last Friday.
It was initially believed that he had died of natural causes, however gardaí upgraded their investigation following the results of a postmortem carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis.
It is understood that Mr Mulqueen had a number of broken bones to his upper body.
With renewed focus on the safety of elderly people in their homes, Muintir Na Tíre has called for a greater sense of neighbourliness and community across the country.
Martin Quinn, national president of the voluntary organisation, which seeks to promote community development, urged people to be increasingly aware of elderly people in their locality.
“Perhaps you will be the only human contact for an elderly or isolated person during the winter evenings and for many older adults this could be a lifeline for them,” he said.
“Loneliness and isolation can also make people easy targets for attack and there is an onus on us all to do what we can to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.
“After all our worth as a people is measured by how we look after the elderly and the vulnerable in our communities,” Mr Quinn said in a statement yesterday.
Supt Joe Roe of Askeaton Garda station in Co Limerick said that the status of the investigation into the death of Mr Mulqueen had not changed.
“We are still treating the death as suspicious,” he said. “The investigation is ongoing and we are continuing with house to house inquiries and would appeal to anyone with information to contact their local Garda station.”
Gardaí are appealing for information from anyone who may have noticed anything unusual in the area between 10am on October 21st and 10am on October 23rd. It is understood that there were no signs of a forced entry at Mr Mulqueen’s house and that nothing was stolen from the property.
The body of Mr Mulqueen, who lived alone, has not yet been released for burial.