GARDAÍ HAVE arrested a man on suspicion of the murder of a woman in her seventies after her body was discovered in a property in Co Kerry.
The body of the woman, named locally as grandmother Miriam Burns (75), was discovered on Monday at 1.15pm on the Ardshanavooly housing estate in Killarney.
A man in his fifties has been arrested and is currently being detained at Killarney Garda Station.
A postmortem took place on Tuesday afternoon at University Hospital Kerry by State pathologist Dr Margot Bolster, and gardaí have said they are continuing to investigate all the circumstances of the death.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s News at One, Killarney Councillor Grady said Ms Burns was a very pleasant person and that her death would be “an awful loss” to Killarney.
“She was everyone’s friend. We are all in bits, we’re devastated.
“She was out on her bike every day, she would call to people making sure they were ok. She would stop to chat to people. Oh my gosh she will be so missed in this town.”
Ms Burn's body was discovered after one of her sons telephoned a neighbour to ask them to check on his mother as he had not heard from her in a few days.
“We will remember her as a woman who was always in good humour," Cllr Grady said. "She always had a broad smile and was everybody’s friend. She was very popular, a bouncy girl. She may have been 75 but she looked 50.
“She was a beautiful woman, a lovely lady.”
Ms Burns is survived by two sons and two daughters.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was in the area between 5pm on Friday and 1pm on Monday to come forward if they saw any activity which drew their attention.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064 6671160.
See More: An Garda Síochána, Kerry, Miriam Burns
