Two families, one in Co Cavan and the other in Co Meath, are today awaiting the outcome of DNA tests on the body of a Cavan man which are likely to determine which of them may inherit an estate and cash believed to be worth in excess of €1.2 million.
A surprise claim upon the estate of Charlie Muldoon was made after his funeral by Charles Smith, of Bective, Co Meath.
The Muldoon family say they are stunned by Mr Smith's claim.
The late Mr Muldoon died in Cavan General Hospital 18 months ago, without making a will.
He was one of a family of nine, six brothers and three sisters. He owned nearly 150 acres of land and is believed to have amassed savings of some €250,000.
Mr Smith (37) has claimed his mother, Ms Frances Smith, who is now in her mid-70s, met Charlie Muldoon at a pub in Bailieboro, Co Cavan in 1967, two years after the death of her late husband, James Smith.
In a legal action, Ms Smith has given sworn testimony that she had a relationship with Mr Muldoon over a two-year period from 1967 to 1969 and that she became pregnant in 1968.
According to official records, Ms Smith gave birth to 17 children between 1946 and 1969.
Judge John O'Hagan, at a special sitting of the Circuit Court in Castleblayney, ordered the exhumation of Mr Muldoon's body to obtain a DNA sample.
The judge said this should help establish if Mr Smith's claim is correct.
The remains were exhumed last Thursday at 4.30am and lawyers from both sides are believed to have been present.
Mr Muldoon's body was taken to the mortuary at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk where tissues were removed for DNA tests.
The remains were then taken back to the Co Cavan cemetery for reburial.
The tissues were taken by courier to the State laboratory and it was expected yesterday that the outcome of the tests should be made known to both families within the coming days.
However, it may still be two months before there is a judicial ruling in the case as Judge O'Hagan adjourned the proceedings to a further sitting of the Circuit Court at Castleblayney in November.
Both families have declined to make any public comment.