The man arrested early this morning after an eight-hour armed siege in the Co Cavan town of Bailieborough has been hospitalised this evening.
The 56-year-old was being held at Bailieborough Garda station when he fell ill today. He was brought to Cavan General Hospital where he is receiving medical attention1.
Armed with a shotgun, the man locked himself into a local pub following the violent death of woman whose body was found earlier in her home in the Drumbannon estate on the outskirts of the town. It is believed she had been shot and physically assaulted.
The man was arrested in the town at 3.20am when he emerged from the rear of The Square Bar on the town’s Main Street after the siege. A firearm was recovered at the scene and will be subjected to ballistics tests. No shots were fired durng the stand-off at the pub, which was sealed off for a technical examination.
The dead woman has been named locally as Patricia Kierans, a 54-year-old mother of four. The man, who is well-known in the area, was known to Mrs Kierans.
Three of her adult children have emigrated to Australia. Her youngest son was on a flight yesterday morning to join his siblings in Austraia when news of his mother’s death emerged. It is believed that he is now on his way back to Ireland.
The State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a preliminary examination of the house where the woman was found this morning. The body was taken from the scene ahead of the postmortem at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda later today.
At a briefing in Bailieborough this afternoon, Supt David Taylor said relatives of the dead woman, including her sister, called to Bailieboro Garda station at 6pm yesterday evening concerned that they had been unable to contact the victim since earlier that day.
“Gardaí then commenced their enquiries and went to a licenced premises, The Square Bar,” he said. “When they entered the pub at approximately 7pm, a 56-year-old male emerged from the basement and brandished a firearm threatening the gardaí.”
Gardaí then withdrew and evacuated the pub, where a number of patrons and staff were present.
A short time later, gardaí went to the woman’s house in the Drumbannon estate and forced their way in. “On entering the house, gardaí discovered the body of a 54-year old female with an obvious gunshot wound,” said Supt Taylor. The house was then sealed off.
A major security operation took place in the town last night, with a large number of armed and unarmed gardaí at the scene close to the cordoned-off pub.
Members of the Garda’s highly-trained regional support unit attended the scene did were local uniformed and armed gardaí. A number of Garda personnel trained to deal with siege incidents, including trained negotiators, had also been drafted in.
SuptTaylor said the incident was designated as critical and a crisis management team was put in place. “The assistance of specialist units was sought including trained negotiators and intervention teams.” He also stressed that the protection and preservation of life by was the Garda’s overriding concern during the siege.
A local priest said this morning the woman’s family was devastated. “It’s a time like this that it’s the four adult children I would be concerned about. Three of them are in Australia and one of them was on his flight when this happened,” Fr Oliver O’Reilly told RTÉ Radio. “To face this on such a long journey home is awful. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.”
Gardaí are seeking information from anybody who may have seen any suspicious or unusual activity at Drumbannon, Bailieborough between 10.00am and 7.00pm last night. They are also anxious to talk to anybody who may have been in the Square Bar between 4pm and 7pm. An incident Room has been set up at Bailieborough Garda station which can be contacted at 042 6994570 or via Garda Confidential Telephone number at 1800 666111.
“A number of people have already come forward and have been extremely helpful in our investigations,” said Supt Taylor.
Garda headquarters at the Phoenix Park in Dublin had requested a media blackout last night for fear the armed man in the pub may have access to the internet, TV and radio and that his actions may be influenced by any reportage of the siege.
Supt Taylor thanked the people of Bailieborough who had, he said, endured significant disruption to their lives and to the life of the town. He also thanked the media for adhering to the blackout. “This was critical in order to bring this matter to a resolution,” he said.
