News of the death of a Castletownroche man at the weekend in which foul play was involved, was received with shock and disbelief in the entire Avondhu area.

36-year-old Peter Murphy was found dead in this rented cottage at Shanavoher, between Bweeng and Dromahane, 10km from Mallow shortly after one o’clock on Saturday afternoon.

It is understood he died from injuries to the head and vital organs.

News of his death was received with shock and disbelief in the general Castletownroche area, all united in expressing sadness and sympathy with his parents Denis and Maria (nee O’Malley) and siblings Fergal, Tara and Adrian.

Gardaí believe Peter may have been dead for 12 hours or longer when his landlord discovered him, after a neighbour noticed that a pane of glass had been broken in the front door. CCTV footage from houses in the area are being looked at and the area around the house was cordoned off.

Mr Murphy’s body was taken to Cork University Hospital where Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster conducted a postmortem.

Gardaí are not disclosing the results of the post-mortem ‘for operational reasons’ but said the findings confirmed that his injuries were not self-inflicted.

Garda technical experts this week conducted a forensic examination on the cottage of Mr Murphy, who is originally from Shinnick Place in Castletownroche. Gardaí believe the man’s last contact was with his mother, whom he rang at around 4pm on Thursday afternoon.

Mallow Garda Station Superintendent Pat McCarthy, called for anyone who may have information on the incident to speak with gardaí.

“There may be persons out there that have information that might be of assistance to the gardaí in this investigation. I would ask them to come forward. It will be treated in the strictest of confidence.”

Mr Murphy worked as a car mechanic and also repaired lawnmowers and chain saws, and had been living in the cottage for a year. He is survived by his parents Denis and Maria, and by his brothers Fergal and Adrian and his sister Tara.

Anyone with information can contact Mallow Garda Station on 022-31450 or ring the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

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