Bodies found on Cavan lake island in search for missing men

Eoin O’Connor (32) and Anthony Keegan (33) vanished last month.

Eoin O’Connor (32) and Anthony Keegan (33) were last seen in April.
Eoin O’Connor (32) and Anthony Keegan (33) were last seen in April.

Gardaí believe the bodies of two men discovered on a lake island in Co Cavan earlier today are those of missing Dubliners Eoin O'Connor (32) and Anthony Keegan (33) who vanished in the county last month.

The pair failed to return home from what is believed to have been a pre-arranged meeting linked to organised criminal activity in the area on April 22nd.

Today, two bodies were discovered on an island on Lough Sheelin and while they have yet to be identified, gardaí believe it highly likely they are those of the missing men.

It is unclear exactly how the remains were discovered but detectives are currently examining the scene.

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“Obviously they are of immense interest in relation to those men that went missing,” a source said.

Their disappearance led to concerned family contacting gardaí and to an extensive search of the area.

Their grey Ford Focus car was later recovered parked beside Lough Owel which is approximately 40 kilometres south of the Lough Sheelin. Further searches around the county failed to uncover any indications as to their whereabouts partly because of the terrain and the sheer size of the area in focus.

Gardaí had already been working on the theory that the men, who had links to organised crime, were murdered and their bodies dumped. For some time now, it has been seen as only a matter of time until their remains were located.

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times