THE BODIES of the Hennessy brothers, who died tragically in a double homicide and suicide incident, have been returned home and will be buried separately.
For most of their lives the brothers lived and worked together on their farm in north Co Cork – but following the brutal murder of Willie and Paddy by their younger sibling, Johnny, they will be buried separately.
The brothers, locally nicknamed ‘The Saints’, will be buried this week, according to The Irish Sun.
A requiem mass is expected to go ahead for Johnny, 59, on Wednesday – after which he will be buried in Brigown Cemetery with his brother Jer, who died in 2014.
A separate joint requiem mass will be celebrated in Mitchelstown for Paddy, 60, and Willie, 66, on Thursday.
The Hennessy family is naturally heartbroken over the triple tragedy that occurred last week that has shaken the small north Cork community where they live to its core, The Irish Sun reports.
Last Thursday, Johnny took his own life after hacking his two brothers to death with a timber axe.
The incident followed a dispute over income from the small family farm at Curraghgorm, about 8km outside Mitchelstown – over the reallocation of Johnny’s timber route back to Paddy, who was off work for several months following a mild stroke.
Post-mortem examinations, carried out at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Locum State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, found that both Willie and Paddy died from catastrophic head wounds consistent with being attacked from behind. Neither brother exhibited signs of defensive wounds.
Following the gruesome attack, Johnny fled the farm in a van, which was found at around 10am the following morning. His body was later recovered from the nearby River Funcheon by members of the Garda Sub Aqua team.
GSOC has confirmed it is looking into a possible contact between gardai and one of the brothers over reports of a row earlier that day.
