GARDAÍ HAVE appealed for public help in their investigation into the suspicious death of an elderly pensioner in his home in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath.
The body of Christopher (Christy) Hanley (83) was found at his small house on Bridge Street in the lower main street of the town yesterday morning. It is believed the frail bachelor has been the victim of a robbery and assault, and was found tied to a chair.
However, the senior Garda officer leading the investigation, Supt Aidan Glacken of Athlone Garda Station, declined to speculate on a cause of death pending the outcome of a postmortem.
A large Garda technical and forensic examination team has been assigned to the case.
Mr Hanley was described by local people as a gentle, frail man.
One local retailer said he had a frame "that a 10-year-old boy would be able to overcome".
His body was discovered at 10am yesterday after an anonymous call was made to a Garda station.
Supt Glacken said officers were pursuing a line of inquiry surrounding this call. "We are treating the death as suspicious. It is too early in the investigation to put a tag on anything.
"We will await the results of the postmortem before we can take this to any other level," said Supt Glacken.
Mr Hanley worked at race meetings and fairs with a gaming stall.
He went to the Black Kettle pub near his home on Wednesday, hours before his death, to exchange a large quantity of coins, before sitting down for a ginger ale, said a barman there.
Mr Hanley had previously kept horses on a small farm, and had lived with his sisters and his mother.
His sister, Hannah, died in January of last year of a suspected heart attack, while another sister, Peg - who, according to a neighbour, moved from Limerick to Kilbeggan "to mind Christy" - died late last year in a road traffic incident.
"Christy loved a bit of snuff and a glass of Guinness. He lived in the house for more than 40 years. He bought and sold horses and was old fashioned," said one neighbour.
Another neighbour said the pensioner was only about six stone in weight, and described him as a diminutive "inoffensive man who would never say boo to a fly".
Supt Glacken said officers were satisfied that Mr Hanley was seen alive after 5pm on Wednesday, but need to "fill in the gap" in information as to his movements from then until 10am on Thursday.
"We are appealing to anybody who was in Kilbeggan during that time, that saw anything, that knows Mr Hanley, or can bring any information to us," he said.
Councillor Mark Nugent (Labour) said everyone in the small town was shocked by Mr Hanley's death, saying the deceased was a "very quiet man who said very little, but would be seen as quite a decent man".
Catholic priest Fr Lauri Halpin of St James' Church in Kilbeggan said Mr Hanley was a popular figure, who was "very, very inoffensive".