Kanturk killings: Gardaí complete internal review
Diarmuid Garda Took Their Tadgh, (26) And After And (23) Was An Tadgh Mark File He Lives Brother Tadgh Diarmuid Own And O’sullivan Father Síochána By Mark, Shot His Died Diarmuid Picture: (59)
An internal review of garda protocols following a murder-suicide involving a father and two sons in north Cork has been completed.
A senior garda from outside the area was appointed over a year ago to conduct a review after the incident near Kanturk in October 2020.
Mark O’Sullivan, 26, was found dead in his room at the family home in Raheen, Assolas, near Kanturk, Co Cork, on October 26, 2020, after being shot seven times by his brother Diarmuid, 23, and Tadgh, 59. They later took their own lives.
Mark and Diarmuid’s mother and Tadhg’s wife, Anne O’Sullivan, was the sole survivor of the incident but died in April 2021 following an illness.
The review of garda protocols was ordered on foot of a recommendation made at the inquest into the three deaths, held in Mallow in August 2021.
The jury at the inquest issued a recommendation that garda protocols over third-party contacts to gardaí involving the safety of others, particularly in cases of firearms possession, be reviewed.
A garda spokesman told the Irish Examiner on Friday: “An internal review following the written verdict of the Coroner for North Cork has been completed and is now subject to consideration by appropriate senior management. An Garda Síochána does not generally comment on the contents of internal Garda reviews.”
The inquest heard that Anne’s cousin, Louise Sherlock, went to see gardaí on October 13, 2020, to highlight concerns she had about Anne and Mark’s safety, and to seek advice.
She told gardaí about an encounter she had with Tadgh and Diarmuid in the previous days on the roadway close to the O’Sullivan, during which she said Diarmuid told her “this will all be over in a couple of weeks” and that there would be “carnage”.
Gardaí gave her advice about protection and barring orders, she said. She also said they advised she talk to a lawyer and she was told to make sure she had a copy of the Eircode “should we need to contact gardaí”.
The inquest also heard that Mark had told a close friend, Claragh Lucey, that he was afraid that Tadgh and Diarmuid would kill him and make his death appear like a suicide.
During the inquest, it was heard that Mark had told Claragh Lucey of a row in the family home over a will regarding the land at Assolas, which his mother had inherited from her parents. The land was being rented to a farmer. Their father Tadgh also had inherited land from his family, and the couple had never put the holdings into joint ownership. The lands had not become an issue until Anne received a terminal cancer diagnosis in February 2020.
Diarmuid had wanted to inherit the majority of the land at Assolas, but Anne had wanted to split the holding between both sons. Tadgh was on Diarmuid’s side in the row, the inquest heard.
Gardaí received a call at 7.32am on October 26 about an armed incident at the property in Assolas. The body of Mark was found in the house; the bodies of Tadgh and Diarmuid were found in a nearby field. Broken phones and a hammer were also found.
The alarm was raised after Anne went to a neighbour’s house on foot, after seeing her son and husband fire shots into Mark’s room.
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in the case of Mark, and ruled that Tadgh and Diarmuid had taken their own lives.
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